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Everything looks impossible until someone does it. And keep in mind that flying is actually safer than driving. Yes, if you have an accident the odds of being l

Everything looks impossible until someone does it. And keep in mind that flying is actually safer than driving. Yes, if you have an accident the odds of being lethal are increased but keep in mind that it is not the same kind of flying. 10000m vs 100m and the speed is also different. Have you ever looked at the fatalities in commercial flying in the early 30s? Better systems were implemented and it is perfectly safe now. So even if there is still a long way to go, someone has to walk that way and take the rewards.

oblio 8y ago
Commercial flights are super safe because there's a million regulations to follow. An airplane costs $100 million or so and is flown by a super trained crew. How is that going to be replicated for $20k cars?
- dageshi 8y ago
  It probably won't, it might be replicated by million dollar automated flying taxi's though?
  - oblio 8y ago
    Could be. Isn't automated flying even harder than automated driving? After all, it's not going to be military drone flying with no obstacles, we're talking about flying and landing in an urban environment.
- ainiriand 8y ago
  When commercial aviation started the regulation was really loose. There were not even a consenus on how to report accidents, how to tell the root cause, etc... We face a similar problem with flying cars. Can they be used as safely as standard cars are used? I think the bar is that low. But we should push for more and learn from mistakes done in road safety, like the need of humans to control your capacity to drive. Yes, it is going to be hard, but is going to be done eventually.
  - detaro 8y ago
    I'd think "flying cars" would clearly fall under existing aviation rules. Those aren't as strict for smaller aircraft/private use as they are for commercial airlines, but there's still a regulatory framework already.
    - krageon 8y ago
      For private use the laws where I am are much stricter (and can be broadly summarized as a "short whitelist of places where you can fly").
      - detaro 8y ago
        True. I should have specified that I was thinking more along the lines of safety regulations etc., where generally General Aviation is less strictly checked.
    - ainiriand 8y ago
      It would definitely make sense as a starting point. But it has some specific use cases that would require specialized regulation. Anyway, someday this will become a reality and we will see if the rules fit.

oblio 8y ago

Commercial flights are super safe because there's a million regulations to follow. An airplane costs $100 million or so and is flown by a super trained crew. How is that going to be replicated for $20k cars?

dageshi 8y ago
It probably won't, it might be replicated by million dollar automated flying taxi's though?
- oblio 8y ago
  Could be. Isn't automated flying even harder than automated driving? After all, it's not going to be military drone flying with no obstacles, we're talking about flying and landing in an urban environment.
ainiriand 8y ago
When commercial aviation started the regulation was really loose. There were not even a consenus on how to report accidents, how to tell the root cause, etc... We face a similar problem with flying cars. Can they be used as safely as standard cars are used? I think the bar is that low. But we should push for more and learn from mistakes done in road safety, like the need of humans to control your capacity to drive. Yes, it is going to be hard, but is going to be done eventually.
- detaro 8y ago
  I'd think "flying cars" would clearly fall under existing aviation rules. Those aren't as strict for smaller aircraft/private use as they are for commercial airlines, but there's still a regulatory framework already.
  - krageon 8y ago
    For private use the laws where I am are much stricter (and can be broadly summarized as a "short whitelist of places where you can fly").
    - detaro 8y ago
      True. I should have specified that I was thinking more along the lines of safety regulations etc., where generally General Aviation is less strictly checked.
  - ainiriand 8y ago
    It would definitely make sense as a starting point. But it has some specific use cases that would require specialized regulation. Anyway, someday this will become a reality and we will see if the rules fit.