Flying cars are here, almost
August 15, 2012
The Transition, an aircraft that can fold its wings, allowing it to also operate as a street-legal road vehicle (credit: Terrafugia)
Cars will finally fly this year, BBC Future reports.
The Transition is $300,000 aircraft that can fold its wings, allowing it to also operate as a street-legal road vehicle, says Terrafugia.
The PAL-V (personal air and land vehicle), also $300,000, is an autogyro, with a propeller at the rear to provide forward thrust and a free-spinning rotor to give it lift. On the ground, it operates more like a streamlined tricycle.
An EU-funded project called myCopter is looking to a future where we whizz to work in Personal Aerial Vehicles (PAVs) with dedicated highways in the sky. Some day.
Comments (12)
by Smart Electric Cars
It is good news until they are all good for our environment that is they have to be electric powered cars or else some alternate energy vehicles which do not pollute the planet.
by Couch
electric vehicles are usually powered by coal fired powerplants
by Tom Armstrong
After a career spanning forty years as a commercial flight instructor, the level of ignorance it takes to imagine that a ‘flying car’ can ever be anything more than a rich mans toy or a publicity gimmick amazes me.
by Bernard
“Flying car” is a bit of a misnomer. It looks more like a roadworthy airplane. IMHO if it needs a runway to get airborn it is not a flying car.
by Marty McFly
No. Bad editor. Flying cars do not have wings.
by kilgatron
This invention is wonderful and will be everywhere in the next 25 years. Yes, they’ll be AI controlled, and yes they’ll cause more pollution, but that’s already occurring. Finally, the price will come down dramatically.
by GatorALLin
…so… I thought by now, someone would take the 4 blade flying toys we see so often and figure out how to make a version big enough to fly a human. Allow it to auto balance even if only 2 of the 4 blades work, so you have 2 back up fans/motors. Yeah the car idea is cool and would be fun to drive and fly… so why not just let it land in water next…..so you get the boat/car/plane thing as 3for1 special. $300K seems so much. Maybe with all the weight reduction to save fuel and even if they can figure out the electric car stuff… would be cool if they can get the smart car or similar to get the price down. If I have 300K to blow on a toy like this…seems like you are way better off getting crazy cool car and then a plane good enough to get you from point A to B. Just seems this idea will never fly (sorry, bad pun) unless you get the price way down…. $20K-$50K range might do it…
I guess if I had that plane/car pictured above rolling down the road at 75mph and wings folded up….you look like a moron. Seems like lowest common denominator for both the car and the plane design and features… but none of the cool looks everyone wanted/expected for 300k. JustMy2cents… that and $299,999.98 gets you this toy.
by Gabor
They have toyed with flying cars for decades now (see Skycar). The problem is not to take a “car” in the air, but to keep it there without killing everybody else. First they will have to develop autonomous control for regular cars. Not just a dozen “Google Cars” but the whole infrastructure. Then we can take them to the skies safely. I could even imagine an AI on board that would take over control immediately when the human pilot proves to be unskilled or otherwise too dangerous. The price wouldn’t matter by then because I don’t think we will own cars in the future, we only will use them for transportation.
by Gabor
They have toyed with flying cars for decades now (see Skycar). The problem is not to take a “car” in the air, but to keep it there without killing everybody else. First they will have to develop autonomous control for regular cars. Not just a dozen “Google Cars” but the whole infrastructure. Then we can take them to the skies safely. I could even imagine an AI on board that would take over control immediately when the human pilot proves to be unskilled or otherwise too dangerous. The price wouldn’t matter by then because I don’t think we will own cars in the future, we only will use them for transportation.
by Christopher Herod
Totally agree. Too much money for crappy looks and not really benefiting economy. Can get a little Cessna or Piper plane for cheap and a nice car for half the price.
by Bri
Autopilot and a lot of FAA oversight, from the route to vehicle maintenance. Airplanes are inspected quite frequently. The Avro car hand eight independent motors. That way if one failed, there were multiple backups. It was way more cool to. I wouldn’t be caught dead in that folded wing plane, on the highway!
by Bennie Beaver
Will we just end up with more pollution, only this time it’s car pollution. Can you imagine a sky full of small planes. Maybe, if someone includes a lot of driverless controls.