By flying car to Timbuktu

I'm impressed to read of plans to launch a 'flying car' - by taking it from London, UK to Timbuktu, Mali! The BBC reports:

A voyage to fabled Timbuktu in a flying car may sound like a magical childhood fantasy.

But this week a British adventurer will set off from London on an incredible journey through Europe and Africa in a souped-up sand buggy, travelling by road - and air.

With the help of a parachute and a giant fan-motor, Neil Laughton plans to soar over the Pyrenees near Andorra, before taking to the skies again to hop across the 14-km (nine-mile) Straits of Gibraltar.




The ex-SAS officer then aims to fly over the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, above stretches of the Sahara desert and, well, wherever else the road runs out.

But forget Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - this flying machine is based on proven technology.

Designed by a 29-year-old British inventor, the Skycar enables its driver to pilot the vehicle at the mere touch of a button as though it were a microlite.

The team behind it calls the Skycar the world's first road legal biofuelled flying car.

Mr Laughton's destination is the west African country of Mali and its city of Timbuktu, a place which has had a mystical, "middle of nowhere" reputation since the heyday of Victorian exploration.

The daredevil 42-day expedition will pass 4,000 miles (6,400 km) through France, Spain and Morocco, head into the Sahara by way of Mauritania and Mali, before returning home via Senegal.




He had also hoped to make the 22mile (35km) flight across the English Channel, but that plan was vetoed by civil aviation officials.

Even Mr Laughton - who has scaled the highest mountains on seven continents and trekked at the North Pole - admits his latest "boy's own" adventure is a little eccentric.

"I like variety and thought this would be an interesting challenge," he told the BBC News website. "Also Timbuktu is an iconic and quirky destination."

The father-of-two says his long-suffering wife's initial reaction to his latest feat of derring-do was "unprintable", but she is now fully behind the charity mission.




On the road, the Skycar takes barely three minutes to convert into an aircraft.

The driver unpacks the special nylon wing from the boot, before unfurling the parachute on the ground to the rear.

The powerful fan's thrust propels the buggy forward and provides enough wing lift to take off at just 45mph (70km/h), from any "airstrip" longer than 650ft (200m).

Once airborne, the driver uses pedals in the zero-carbon vehicle's foot well to steer the Skycar by tugging cables that change the wing's shape.

Should something go wrong, the pilot can launch an emergency parachute, which should allow the buggy to drift safely back to earth.

A convoy of support vehicles will accompany the team every step of the way.

What the nomadic camel caravans of the Sahara will make of the flying machine is anybody's guess.

Actually, I think I can guess what they'll make of it - Swiss cheese! Last time I was in that area, they'd blaze away with rifles at anything that looked even remotely strange to them. One hopes the Skycar will fly above their effective range!

The adventurers are scheduled to start their journey on January 14th. The Skycar Expedition's Web site offers more information.

Peter