A father-daughter team in southern Delaware is asking people not to shoot them out of the sky amid concerns about drone sightings along the East Coast. They're one of the first five American families to own a BlackFly flying car.
"I've had like 11 different airplanes," said John Chirtea.
Chirtea and his daughter, Heather Chirtea, have a couple of planes in their hanger in Sussex County, Delaware. But the coolest in their collection isn't technically a plane — or a drone. It's a flying car.
Takeoff and landing is a little steep, but John, 86, said he loves flying the BlackFly around the countryside.
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"When I was a kid, I always dreamed, laying in bed, of flying a magic carpet. I fly around in this thing. It's like I'm in a magic carpet," he said.
The Chirteas are among the first five Americans to own a BlackFly personal air vehicle. They're licensed pilots, but they say they only need a driver's license to fly the BlackFly.
"We feel like this is manifest destiny. Like, we are the first people in America to actually have a flying car," Heather Chirtea said.
The electric-powered flying car costs about $200,000 and can fly about 20 miles. It takes about 45 minutes to recharge.
John and Heather Chirtea believe there will soon be a lot of piloted and pilotless vehicles like the BlackFly in the American skies.
The personal air vehicle can go up to about 4,000 feet, but they generally don't fly that high. Operators typically fly them about 250 feet above ground because they have to be sure they have the power to get back down safely. BlackFly vehicles do have parachute systems for emergency situations.
As reports of mysterious drones flying in the skies at night along the East Coast grow, the Chirteas said they don't want people to mistake their flying car for a drone.
"Well, you're damn right I don't want anybody shooting at me," John Chirtea said.
"What really concerns me is when politicians get on television and they say 'Oh, we're gonna shoot all these things down' and people think it's OK to shoot down, you know, some vehicle they see in the sky. You don't know if there's a person in there," Heather Chirtea said.
John Chirtea said he never flies the BlackFly at night.
Although concerning, he does love the attention the drones have brought to the potential of electric personal air vehicles like his.
"We are on the cutting edge of the new technology of how people are going to be flying," John Chirtea said.
