Low-flying car: Russian ex-pilot builds working prototype... but it can only get 10ft off the ground

A flying car is, among other things, the perfect solution to the often expensive irritant of finding a parking space at airports.

But where some attempts at realising the science fiction staple have been pretty hi-tech affairs, this one is a little more budget.

The 'V. Bulgakov' is the work of former pilot Valery Bulgakov, 72, and though it looks rather cobbled together it does actually fly - albeit not very high or far.

Fly-drive: Russian ex-pilot Valery Bulgakov has created a working prototype of a flying car Budget airline: The invention is a modified 1987 ZAZ Tavria car - with added wings

It becomes airborne at 60 miles per hour but has a maximum height of just 10 feet and can fly a distance of only 600 feet.

The Russian inventor from the city of Kaluga, 93 miles south West of Moscow, modified a 1987 ZAZ Tavria car by replacing the doors and bonnet with lighter materials and then adding wings.

The four-cantilever wing design is intended to make it safer in the air, and it takes around 20 seconds to reach flight speed.



While it was not designed for commercial sale or flight Bulgakov has patented his creation, which he showed off at the Autoexotics motor show in Moscow.

Practise flights: Bulgakov designed the creation to help train pilots to land and take off In the cockpit: Valery Bulgakov is a former pilot and he hopes this prototype will serve as a forerunner for further flying car designs from Russia

EasyJet won't be buying them in bulk just yet because Bulgakov didn't create it for that purpose. Instead, the V.Bulgakov is intended to be a cost-effective way to help train aspiring pilots to practise take-offs and landings.

But just because Bulgakov isn't quite aiming for the skies, commercially-speaking, it doesn't mean others aren't.

The most high profile flying car to date has been the American-designed Terrafugia Transition, which was cleared for use on both roads and in the air in July last year.

It is scheduled to be released for sale as a Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) in 2012 with an estimated price of $194,000 (£118,000).