By Elisabeth Razoumova '16This week the Slovakian Startup AeroMobil showcased a prototype of their stationary flying car in Vienna. The car drives on roads and when the wings are retracted can fly 430 miles at a speed of 124 miles per hour. All it requires for takeoff is an open space of 200 meters.This project has been in the works for 20 years, started in the garage of Stefan Klein. The Aeromobil fits two passengers and runs on regular gasoline. It weighs less than one thousand pounds, which makes it more fuel-efficient. The company’s goal is to cater specifically to developing countries where there aren’t many roads or airports. Aeromobil’s closest competitor would be Terrafugia, but their vehicle does not have retractable wings.The feasibility of creating an environment for personal air vehicles (PAVs) has recently become a topic of scholarly research. The European Union has created a four-year project where six European institutes are looking at the feasibility of PAVs. The research is specifically focused on the logistics surrounding the flying car, not on the car itself. Some of the challenges include creating virtual corridor traffic systems that use swarm technology to prevent vehicles from colliding with one another.Though the PAV prototype is groundbreaking, it is far away from being commercially viable. Autonomous vehicle technology is much closer to commercial adoption and it is still facing governmental pressure. Meanwhile, the barriers facing flying vehicles are much higher. For instance not everyone who can drive a car can be a successful pilot. Moreover, the safety concerns are much larger for someone flying miles above the air as opposed to driving on the ground. Not to mention planes that could hit a PAV and not even notice.Sourceshttp://www.cnn.com/2014/10/03/tech/innovation/finally-a-flying-car-mycopter/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-31/a-slovakian-startup-is-building-a-flying-car.htmlhttp://www.dvice.com/2013-10-18/flying-car-market-heats-aeromobile-liftshttp://www.aeromobil.com/specification