News

Plans to fly a car across the English Channel as part of its land and air journey to Africa have been scuppered because relevant paperwork had not been submitted to authorities.

The makers of the flying car were planning to cross the English Channel in their innovative Parajet Skycar but failed to get a licence from Britain's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to allow them to fly here.

The Skycar team left London by road on Wednesday morning (13 January) and are planning to part-drive, part-fly the 6,000 kilometres (3,750 miles) to the Malian desert city of Timbuktu in 42 days.

The craft is flown as a powered parachute under which is a small two-seat, dune-buggy-style off-road car with a powered fan on the back.

After landing, the pilot can simply pack up the chute and drive away minutes later. It has a lightweight design, advanced aerodynamics and a Yamaha motorcycle engine.

The company claim it is easy to fly, impossible to stall, and features an emergency ballistic parachute system.

The aircraft can launch in less than 700 feet, fly at 70 mph, and has a range of about 200 miles.