Flying cars!
At least half of my obsession with The Jetsons came from the flying cars they had. Good to know that there are still people working furiously to finally make them a reality. Following the path of drones and other UAV to mainstream use, flying car concepts seem to have finally come of age thanks to the mass-market introduction of electric cars and the rapidly diminishing cost of lithium-ion batteries, thanks largely Elon Musk and Tesla for that one!
Here are some of the most promising projects... A German flying car with some well-heeled backers... https://lilium.com/ Chinese Quadcopter being commercially tested in Dubai this year... http://fortune.com/2017/02/16/dubai-...axi-ehang-184/ |
The Jetson's flying cars depending upon some means of anti-gravity. Which doesn't exist because gravity is not a Newtonian force as much as it is an Einstein huge mass warping time-space.
Once you put wings on a car it is no longer a car, it becomes an airplane that's regulated and licensed by the federal government instead of by states.. |
We've had flying cars for the longest time, they're called helicopters.
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I liked the speeder bikes when I was a kid. Never really liked Star Wars much, I like Star Trek more.
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These are cool concepts. Flying cars have been around since the 40's but there's no real demand for them, no one wants to deal with having a flying car, people are just interested in looking at them on YouTube but not actually buying them. There's been a number of failed companies manufacturing flying cars or trying to generate hype around their product.
I am one of those people who want to have the latest gadget, but realistically, as much as I'm pro-flying cars, I'm probably not going to get one even if I could afford it. I don't even want to deal with having a driving car, and the infrastructure is basically there, although that's arguable in NYC, while having a flying car just seems like a constant headache. |
I am sure some people said the same thing about cell phones and television too so you're probably in good company. ;)
I personally think they will be here in short order in but the timeline will depend largely on the batteries and automation of flight much like electric car adoption. Apparently the Lilium Jet project will only require a 25-hour flight course because it will qualify as a Light Sport Aircraft... And because the cost of electricity even at an airplane sized battery scale is of so little consequence I can see small light air taxis taking a big chunk of at least the regional flight market since even by conservative estimates 90% of airports in the USA and Canada have little to no traffic through them, which is a lot of unused capacity! |
The reality is that until they are made to be long distance and completely self flying from start to finish then they will only be a novelty. Until that time a flying license will be required which few will be bothered to get.
Also try getting insurance to make it legal to even fly. |
Eyes on the skies: SkyDrive plans to launch flying cars in three years
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20.../#.XzWC3X57nIU Quote:
https://i.imgur.com/DBoTHrh.jpg |
Japan's 'Flying Car' Gets off Ground, With a Person Aboard
https://www.usnews.com/news/business...-person-aboard Quote:
https://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/..._Car_58802.jpg |
^ Santa's new sleigh!
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Rotating blades to provide lift makes the supposedly small car into a helicopter or plane, which would require a pilot's license to fly in the USA. The guardless blades would also make it into a huge meat grinder to any nearby pedestrians.
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love it!
Quote:
just freaking amazing |
Given our inability to really do 2D (cars on a street) navigation safely, I'm thinking 3D navigation is going to be quite interesting.
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The flying car is here – and it could change the world
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...-and-air-taxis Quote:
https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/624x351/p08y3hv6.webp |
Central Florida lands hub for Jetsons-like ‘flying cars’
https://apnews.com/article/flying-ca...aa2ca0c7b9b5b0 Quote:
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Not too different from the fly-in, fly-out communities developed in the 1950's-1970's... I can't wait to see more! Lilium to me seems like the most viable of the projects. 300 km/h, 300 km range... Can't wait!
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Cadillac wants to fly people in electric drones
https://mashable.com/article/general...dsFgTwqoarnszU Quote:
https://mondrian.mashable.com/upload....amazonaws.com https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErillbtW...pg&name=medium https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErillcPX...pg&name=medium https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErilldcW...pg&name=medium |
Fiat Chrysler plans to mass produce flying cars by 2023
https://qz.com/1956157/fiat-chrysler...-cars-by-2023/ Quote:
https://i.imgur.com/OJfWxGq.jpeg |
English City to Host World-first Electric Flying Car Airport
https://interestingengineering.com/e...ng-car-airport Quote:
https://inteng-storage.s3.amazonaws...._resize_md.jpg |
I also believe Lilium signed a deal to built 10 ports in Florida last week as well... Good to see this project move ahead, especially since I think it's the one of the most well designed and financed projects around... https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-getting-all-electric-flying-taxis-hubs-2021-1#:~:text=Florida%20will%20become%20home%20to,flying%20taxi%20hubs%20called%20'vertiports'&text=The%20air%20taxi%20startup%20Lilium,of%20the%20flying%2Dtaxi%20hubs.
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