PAL-V LIBERTY FLYING CAR BUILT WITH TORAY MATERIAL

Now Approved for Road Usage in Europe

PAL-V, a company founded in 2001 in the Netherlands, recently received approval for operating the Liberty “flying car” on the streets of Europe. PAL-V is an acronym for Personal Air and Land Vehicle, and the Liberty is a gyroplane.

The PAL-V Liberty rotor blades use 190gsm TORAYCA® T700S/#2510 fabric and 150gsm TORAYCA® T700G/#2510 UD carbon fiber composite materials from Toray Composite Materials America, Inc. (CMA). The body panels, doors, and fuel tank use 200gsm TORAYCA® T300/ER450 fabric, 300gsm TORAYCA® T700/ER450 UD, and CK hybrid carbon fiber and aramid fiber materials from Toray Composite Materials Italy (CIT). Both CMA and CIT are subsidiaries of Toray Industries, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

The TORAYCA® T700/#2510 is qualified to the Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments (AGATE) database, which the FAA and EASA recognize for aircraft structural certification. Industry qualified material reduces the time and cost to certify an aircraft structure. Jeroen van de Braak, Supply Chain Manager, states: “We chose materials from Toray because it fits PAL-V’s design philosophy to work with certified materials.”  Industry qualified materials pass on the certification cost savings to PAL-V, making the Liberty cost competitive in the market.

PAL-V is hoping to achieve EASA CS-27 certification in 2022 with customer flights shortly thereafter. PAL-V is working within the regulations of CS-27 instead of trying to get waivers which often require longer timeframes to prove equivalent safety. The Liberty comes in two versions with the Sport as the entry model at $399,000 and the Pioneer as the upgraded model at $600,000.

About Toray Industries, Inc.

Toray is a leading global company in innovative technologies and advanced materials. Since its foundation in 1926, the Company has contributed to society through the creation of new value and addressed global challenges by delivering high value-added products including fibers and textiles, resins and films, and carbon fiber composite materials. It operates in 29 countries and regions with about 48,000 employees worldwide.

For more information about Urban Air Mobility, please visit our website at www.uam.toray.com.

About Toray Composite Materials America, Inc. (CMA)

Toray Composite Materials America, Inc. (CMA) specializes in carbon fiber and advanced thermoset composite prepregs. These materials serve high-volume commercial aerospace, general automotive, high-end motorsports, and urban air mobility markets. Material databases are available for specific products for aerospace applications.

For more information about CMA, please visit our website at www.toraycma.com.

About Composite Materials (Italy) s.r.l. (CIT)

Composite Materials (Italy) s.r.l. – CIT a Toray Group Company – manufactures woven carbon, special fabrics, multiaxial, prepregs and UD tapes. We also formulate and apply our own resins, epoxy and phenolic, as well as other formulations depending on the designated use and areas of application: industrial, aerospace, automotive, sport and leisure, medical, building and marine.

For more information about CIT, please visit our website at www.composite-materials.it.