A year after it was pronounced airworthy by the FAA, and 14 years after it was first announced, the Samson Sky Switchblade is officially off the ground. This street-legal three-wheeler converts to a 200-mph (320-km/h) airplane at the touch of a button.
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$$$.
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.
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.