De Lorean DMC-12 has been an inspiration for countless design iterations all these years, right from the time it was first showcased to the world in the Back to the Future movie trilogy. Driven by Doc Brown to trigger time travel at the speed of 88 mph, the futuristic vehicle customized for the movie made this possible using a 1.21 gigawatt power source and flux capacitor.
The rear-engine two-seater sports car with its stainless steel body and gull-winged doors was a desirable object for motorheads, even more so, given its limited production run (approximately 9,000 units) in the early 80s. In fact, the DMC-12 went out of production even before the release of the movie. Now, a DIYer imagines the ionic car as a flying machine made out of an unassuming material. While flying cars are on the horizon, fueling our longing, Brian has a completely different interpretation of the two in this interesting project.
Designer: Brian Brocken
This one has been more than a year in making, as Brian finalized the basic form factor on the flying using a mega-sized CNC router. The body is made out of Styrofoam panels encapsulating the carbon fiber frame (replacing the previous aluminum frame) and motorized louvers and doors. Talking of the ladder frame, it has carbon fiber tubes and forged carbon fiber corners that are carved using tow nd resin using a 3D printing technique. The thing has now been upgraded to have a tire-tilting mechanism to make the thing as movie-accurate as possible. This mode is activated when the lightweight vehicle is in flight and before hitting the ground, the wheels retract back into position.
Of course, the flying capability is achieved using four rotors on each corner that lift the frame up. In its first flight with wheels, the Styrofoam Delorean’s airframe and PID tune need some tinkering before it can fly in any direction as intended. On top of the solid chassis sits the upper section of the vehicle, which is made to scale and looks like a washed-out DMC-12 in another dimension. In subsequent test flights, he discovered the need for thrust vector control flaps to reduce overall weight and improve yaw response. The current final version of the DIY addresses all the basic issues and is ready for flight actuated by an InterLink DX Simulator controller, set to show off on the road.
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