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I must say I'm against this development. First of all, even if electric, this is certainly a very inefficient way of transportation that will 'waste' a lot of e
by Quanttek 9y ago
I must say I'm against this development. First of all, even if electric, this is certainly a very inefficient way of transportation that will 'waste' a lot of energy to transport maybe 4 people.
The resulting price of this technology will result in the 99% stuck on the ground while the only te 1% can afford the fare.
And even if it becomes a regular mode of transportation, do you really want these planes to fly over your apartment/house every few minutes? They might be more quiet than a Cessna but they wll certainly still be disturbing
- coldcode 9y agoI don't fear flying cars. I fear flying car crashes. Instead of a fender bender they "land" in your bedroom.
- jp555 9y agoEver heard of a ballistic parachute? Not a 100% solution of course, but then again zero customers died in all passenger aircraft flights last year. That’s saying a lot when every single day, there are times when there are over a million people simultaneously sitting in chairs in the sky
- 908087 9y ago> but then again zero customers died in all passenger aircraft flights last year. This isn't even remotely accurate. Also, even when a BRS deployment goes well, there's a good chance that the aircraft is coming through someone's roof if flying over a populated area.
- michrassena 9y agoI believe it was zero deaths on commercial jets last year, but when comparing that safety record to these smaller craft, it's a category error. Light planes are generally less safe than commercial jets per miles traveled.
- mrep 9y agoFive people just died in a NYC heliopter crash on sunday: https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/11/us/new-york-city-helicopter-accident/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/11/us/new-york-city-helicopter-a...
- ryandrake 9y agoDo you fear small airplanes (which have been flying over your house for almost a century) too?
- astrobase_go 9y agoI agree with your opposition to this development with respect to people moved per unit of energy consumed. I think development funds are much better spent on improving the efficiency, reliability, and capacity of mass transit systems for large and crowded urban areas. However, that's not really fodder for sexy startup material. Additionally, if these are widely adopted, I can imagine a highly-crowded Class G (or D, if near an airport -- and how do you establish two-way comms between ATC and an autonomous flying taxi?) airspace ending badly for passengers or bystanders in crowded metropolitan areas. This may be why KittyHawk has done their R&D in New Zealand, rather than in the US under FAA regulations.
- annerajb 9y agoThe way it will work on the US based on what Uber and others are talking about. Is a special corridor where only autonomous traffic is allowed. This planes allowed on this corridor will have digital air traffic controllers and only be allowed if they have certain amount of capacity similar to ADS-B mandate in the future. This allows the plane to all fly and not hit each other and pilots won't be allowed in that corridor.
- 23443463453 9y agoDon't worry, when they say "how we all get around" they don't mean the vast majority of society including you. This is for the billionaire class that is turning New Zealand into the billionaires' prepper island. This is for those who precisely don't want to share the sky with you. A basic Cessna from 1975 is currently around $110,000 and not because it's an antique. How much do you think this nonsense air taxi will cost? You can do the math yourself. Are you the demographic that is going to pay $500 for an air taxi across the city? This video has all the hallmarks of the Billionaire liberal cult message, twinkly background music, delusional statements about how electric is emissions free just because it externalizes the emissions to the power plant, the fake smiles and restrained psychopathic messaging about being "reeeeeally excited". It's all there. It's amazing how people don't get that we are on a path towards Elysium, not some delusional liberal hippy fantasy land of everyone just getting along and loving each other. But sure, maybe I'm wrong and there will be billions of these zipping around in the sky. What a wonderful prospect. Now if they can only control the peasant rabble's behavior to make that possible. But the techtalitarians have that part covered too as they sacrifice the civilized world to savagery that can be used as justification to enact ever more controls and surveillance. It's bizarre to see this delusional tradeoff happening as magical thinking blinds people to the reality that stares them down.
- clon 9y agoI agree. People talking about flying cars sound a lot like people demanding faster horses. Or flying horses. I do not think the American dream of a private car scales too well to the future, be it with rubber wheels or tiny propellers. Especially given the population growth. Instead, a brief visit to Singapore, for example, will convince anyone what the future of transportation looks like. A public transport system, enabling a lifestyle that makes cars redundant.
- Bromskloss 9y agoThe point of flying cars is that they would be cool to fly. I mean, at least _if_ you get to fly them, as opposed to you just being their cargo.
- vadimberman 9y ago> Instead, a brief visit to Singapore, for example, will convince anyone what the future of transportation looks like. A public transport system, enabling a lifestyle that makes cars redundant. Living in Singapore, I agree with what you say, but in this future, there will be a lot of whining, too: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15928972 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15928972
- Bizarro 9y agoInstead, a brief visit to Singapore, for example, will convince anyone what the future of transportation looks like It might have convinced you, but it won't "convince anyone", or the majority of people.
- mrep 9y agoHow safe is Singapore public transportation and walking? The reason I ask is that neither are as safe as driving here in the US which i consider a major blocker in the public transportation utopia people keep dreaming up. Relevant discussion I have had about this topic: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16462803 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16462803
- ecshafer 9y ago
- akerro 9y agoI'm personally against it because I don't want anything to fall down into my garden or on my head in case of a failure.
- nl 9y agoDo planes often fall on your head?
- blocked_again 9y agoNope. Given the number of planes in the world the probability of that happening is close to Zero. But a lot of birds has pooped on my head. The more KittyHwaks and other mass used flying cars in the air the more the probability of one falling on your head.
- ryanlol 9y agoI don't think it would be acceptable for an aircraft like this to have a failure rate comparable to a birds poop rate.
- akerro 9y ago> Do planes often fall on your head? No, but once per week I see a broken car on a motorway on my commute.
- t3po7re5 9y agoCan't you say the same about helicopters and airplanes?
- blocked_again 9y agoYup. But probability is close to Zero.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- vadimberman 9y agoIt's true that they should not be adopted en masse, but in some cases, it is very useful: * transportation across mountainous terrain - it will actually increase safety * a few tightly controlled shuttles in gridlocked megalopolises like those in Asia with nightmarish traffic Basically, taking over the role of the helicopters, but safer and more affordable. I would, however, prefer fewer smaller bus-sized vehicles.
- markdown 9y agoThese would work great in Fiji flying tourists from the international airport on the main island to the dozen or so little resort islands nearby. And since a significant proportion of our electricity is generated by hydro power, could be almost carbon neutral travel.
- bfuller 9y agoWhat about in places like Bogota where the rich are already using helicopters to travel the city? Surely a service like this opens air travel up for a larger audience. And as for efficiency, again, places like Bogota or Guatemala City are so congested all day/evening, surely idling in your car for 1+hr to go a few miles is not efficient.
- icc97 9y agoIf it reduces the din of the awful noise of living anywhere near to a helipad in the south west of London, just so rich kids can come and go as they please, then it's worth it. The choppers are already there, so there's already the risk of something falling out of the sky.
- product50 9y agoTypical cynical hacker news comment. Have you seen any numbers wrt mileage? Do you know if this will be debuted as a taxi which can transport users vs. something one can own? Have you seen any wrt emissions vs. a normal suv which carries a family of 4? I am amazed how you can come to this conclusion without knowing anything about the product.
- CodeWriter23 9y agoI’m amazed you missed the parts where everyone in the video referred to it as an “air taxi”.
- product50 9y agoI did not. The person who was commenting before me did.