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In 1968, the USA used helicopters in lieu of light trucks all over Vietnam, thousands upon thousands. Getting an heli ride was a mundane experience for a conscr
by varjag 9y ago
In 1968, the USA used helicopters in lieu of light trucks all over Vietnam, thousands upon thousands. Getting an heli ride was a mundane experience for a conscripted grunt. If anything the practice scaled down a lot since due to proliferation of MANPADs. But point is, a helicopter was not something mind blowing or novel on the scale of a flying car.
Nor would an RC model shatter anyone's imagination then, another common thing. If anything, a non-controlled, autonomous or semi autonomous drones that are appearing now would be far more impressive.
- nine_k 9y agoSure, the military had lots of helicopters. Also, portable radios, intercontinental aircraft, and space rockets. These were not a relatively affordable part of daily life, though. Now if I'm in a crunch, and the roads / subways get clogged down for some reason (not a rare event), I can theoretically quickly get from my office to JFK airport on a helicopter for $100 (more like $30 from 1968), if I share the flight with 3 other people. Also, for the same money I can get a half-decent RC quadcopter with a homing ability and a camera that spies from 1968 would kill for. No flying cars, though. Blame air safety regulations.