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They should make a category of “driving-airplanes” vs “flying-cars”, cause this looks like the latter.
You’re saying this looks like a flying car
I think you mean the former…
People can barely drive. Personal car-planes will be chaos.
They need to be fully automated when flying.
It makes sense because flying in largely open 3 dimensional space is comparatively easy for computers but harder for humans, whereas driving on roads is the opposite.
The only reason it’s harder for the computers on the roads is because there are a lot more stupid humans in close proximity than there would be in open air. Under a well designed fully autonomous system cars wouldn’t need 95% of the things we humans need to drive effectively.
People fly light aircraft all the time. Getting a pilots license isn’t as easy as sitting in line at the dmv… relax.
I think the target audience will still be licensed pilots that own their aircraft. But instead of buying a small plane that need to be stored in a hangar, you can drive this to your home garage from the local airstrip/airport. Or use it to drive around town at your destination and then drive back to the airport for takeoff on your way back. So if you don’t own a Cessna or were planning to get one, this is probably not for you. Very niche, still cool IMO.
Yeah personal mobility is great and all but I don’t think these will be popular. I expect city flying stuff will be autonomous
Especially considering it looks like it still requires a runway like a plane to start then it flies with low mobility… i would think a “flying car” would almost need like the mobility of a helicopter
You get a crappy car that turns into a crappy plane: what’s not to love?
Yeah I don’t think they’ll ever get FAA approval. And if they do, I think your testing requirements would have to be so high as to basically be a full fledged pilot. This is all just proof of concept and fantasy hype click baity BS.
They’ve been feeding us this same exact level of flying car drivel for decades now. I’m not holding my breath for it….
It’ll be licensed pilots if it happens
I wouldn’t be surprised if a separate license for low power, small, perhaps partially automated “Air Taxis” was invented IF these types of things became popular
I’d think this would mostly be for the wealthy anyway before possibly someday getting cheap and normal enough for the commoners to use occasionally
That’s very cool
The craft they flew is the video had a fixed wing. This certainly did not look like a fold out wing like advertised.
WCGW?
I think people misunderstand this whole flying car thing. I agree with Neil Degrasse Tyson. We already invented flying cars they are called helicopters. And highway cloverleafs already put traffic up and into 3 dimensional space.
We are never going to have Back to the Future 2, or George Jetson flying vehicles for everyone. All these ‘flying cars’ are just airplanes you can take home and park in your own garage so you don’t need to store them at the airport hanger for huge money$$$.My theory is it’s being pushed by the ultra wealthy.m so they don’t have to share the road with us peasants. Yeah they could use helicopters, but they’re limited to designated landing pads. The kind of flying car they want is fictional though.
Most regular folks I know want a better train system. It already exists and done well in Japan and Europe, it could actually be done.
They are still going to be limited to airports. This is not a vertical take off. It requires a runway, and there is no way they can just get on the highway, spread their wings and fly away. If they believe they can fly, other road goers sure are going to have a word about it.
Yeah but this looks like a fun thing for rich guys to work on for awhile. I’m kinda kidding but not at the same time. I know a few really rich guys that have nothing to do, so they spend their time and money on big projects like this. Usually they get off without losing any money because investors covered it all, or it actually works and they sell off at the end and make bank and start over with something else. Shit, if I had too much money and knew how to get investors onboard, I have a lot of fun business ideas I’d try to launch and I’d be keeping busy surrounding myself with other nerds.
Let’s hope they work better than Samsung washing machines and fridges.
Can’t wait till we have “Air Rage” incidents.
While cool…I just don’t see the use? It’s a crappy plane and a crappy car.
Most people with small planes land at little airports and many have a courtesy car.
I can’t imagine landing a little plane that can barely take passengers or cargo at a regional airport and then driving it on the road.
I’d think it’s SUPER light too…so is it safe on the road?
This loops more like a “road legal airplane” to me than a “flying car”.
And so it begins
It’s obvious you will have to be a licensed pilot for one of these. Possibly under the FAA Light Sport Rule.
To qualify for LSA, max takeoff gross weight 1320 lbs, max stall spd 51mph, max level cruise 138mph. Since they claim 160 cruise spd, it would disqualify if for LSA. Also with 36gal of fuel weighing 218lbs, I doubt this will be 1320lbs or under gross weight.
If it’s not qualified for light sport aircraft, then it would have to qualify for 14 CFR Part 23, and require a Private Pilot License, single engine land cert at minimum. I can’t see this supposed $150k airplane being certified for IFR (instrument flight rules), and don’t see this airplane being less than $300k or more. More than likely operated under FAA experimental rules.
This is really just a novelty toy when it comes down to it. Obviously intended to take off from an un-controlled airport to land at another un-controlled airport and drive it to your lake cottage or something. But why buy this when you can buy a rebuilt Cessna with a new engine for a fraction. Renting or sub-rent hanger space at an un-controlled airport doesn’t cost much, and you can buy a cheap used car to keep at your destination. I seriously doubt this will ever get off the ground, and if it does, it will be short lived.
Sorry for the long rant, but some seem to think any Joe Blow will be able to fly one of these. The thought of autonomous flying vehicles like the Jetsons won’t happen in our grand children’s life time. There’s way more to it than people think.
A flying sport car with the reliant robin as its base look?
I can see this as more of a conspiracy to sell speedy death traps to rich people.
