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Flying Car Does Fit Inside a C-130J Super Hercules, Air Force Proved It

The whole flying car thing has been around for ages, it seems. Every decade companies pop up promising their recipe is the one that will work, and the world will finally receive the flying cars it was promised long ago, but doesn’t actually need.
Lift Hexa being loaded in a C-130J Super Hercules 4 photos
Photo: Senior Airman Jacob T. Stephens/U.S. Air Force
Lift Hexa being loaded in a C-130J Super HerculesLift Hexa being loaded in a C-130J Super HerculesLift Hexa being loaded in a C-130J Super Hercules
The arrival of drones into the world gave birth to the concept of vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) machines. Not exactly flying cars in the strictest sense of the word, they are now the focus of countless companies trying to make a name for themselves in what is expected to be the next El Dorado in transportation: urban air mobility.

Lift Aircraft is one of those companies. Its idea of flying car comes in the form of the Hexa, a pod of sorts that takes to the sky with the help of eighteen electric motors and an equal number of propellers. There’s nothing spectacular about it, really, compared to what else is out there, but the thing sure caught the eye of the U.S. Air Force.

Earlier in March, a C-130J Super Hercules belonging to the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona was loaded with a wrapped-up Hexa, which was then transported by air from Springfield, Ohio to Austin, Texas. It was the first time in history when a military aircraft transported a flying car inside its belly.

The exercise was meant, according to the people over at Davis-Monthan, as a proof of concept. The Air Force is apparently trying to find ways to integrate civilian-developed VTOLs into its operations to support personnel recovery and initial airfield assessment. Offensive missions are not ruled out either.

To prove they can be used in the field, the Hexa VTOL will be part of the Bushwhacker series of exercises performed by the Air Force's 355th Wing stationed at Davis–Monthan.

The first attempt to load the VTOL into the Hercules took the team 40 minutes to complete, but being military and all, these people are not content with that and plan to bring the time down to 15 minutes.

“This is the first milestone in developmental operations of eVTOL in rescue and attack, which highlights how the wing continues to actively engage on the front end of these efforts to continue building our readiness for tomorrow’s fight,” said in a statement U.S. Air Force Maj. Brendan Gallagher, 563rd Rescue Group chief of weapons and tactics.

“By doing this, we are furthering the rescue and attack capabilities as we look toward the future, because these are the next generation of flying platforms.”
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
Daniel Patrascu profile photo

Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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