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I Test Drove a Flying Car. Get Ready, They're Here
- Eisenstein 1y agoDoes 'flying car' have its own FAA designation? My assumption is that it would fall under the already existing aircraft types and require the same license to operate.
- chickenbig 1y agoIt is a part 103 ultralight, according to Scott Manley. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wncRFPd69rg?t=1110 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wncRFPd69rg?t=1110
- JaggedJax 1y agoCorrected link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wncRFPd69rg&t=1110 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wncRFPd69rg&t=1110
- dopamean 1y agoI'm going to go out on a limb and guess that there's basically no chance that flying cars become a meaning part of life in America in my lifetime (I just turned 40).
- burkaman 1y agoI agree with you, but keep in mind that's probably what 40-year-olds in 1903 said about planes after hearing about the Wright brothers. Sometimes things do actually change.
- cpmsmith 1y agoIf we assume this means "in the next 50 years", they wouldn't be totally wrong. You could make the case airplanes were only on the cusp of being "a meaning[ful] part of life in America" by 1953 – planes only overtook trains for domestic US travel in 1955, and 1957 for trans-Atlantic. https://airandspace.si.edu/explore/stories/commercial-aviation-mid-century#:~:text=In%201955%2C%20for%20the%20first%20time%2C%20more%20people%20in%20the%20United%20States%20traveled%20by%20air%20than%20by%20train%2E https://airandspace.si.edu/explore/stories/commercial-aviati...
- oldpersonintx2 1y ago[dead]
- strangattractor 1y agoReminds me of how Popular Mechanics use to alternate between Flying Cars and return of the Blimps issues. Scott is a sport pilot enthusiast and approached the evaluation from that perspective. I don't think there are many pilots, myself included, that believe we are on the verge of flying cars for mass transportation. They are expensive to purchase, maintain and impractical for many reasons.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- klipklop 1y agoI agree. In the US I have seen simple regional public transportation projects take decades and they are still not complete. A single on/off ramp (literally a quarter mile of road) will take 5 years. There is just no way a public flying car infrastructure can be built in the US in the next 30-50 years you are alive.
- WithinReason 1y agoIsn't the point of flying cars that they don't need roads?
- saghm 1y agoUnless you expect that most people would be fine with an unbounded number of flying cars (presumably at least as noisy as existing ones) without speed limits in their neighborhood, there's going to have to be some sort of infrastructure. Just because they won't literally be roads doesn't mean that the same types of social dynamics won't apply.
- littlekey 1y agoPresumably they would need roads in the sense of arbitrary "surfaces" on top of one another, so that you could shift lanes vertically as well as horizontally. And then you would need at least a visual indicator of which lane you're in, maybe even force feedback similar to bott's dots.
- nradov 1y agoWe would need a lot of landing pads free of nearby hazards (trees, wires, antennas). Those pads generally can't just be added on to existing buildings: most high-rise buildings weren't designed to support the necessary weight, plus roofs are already full of other equipment. Assuming appropriate sites can be found, there will also be a long permitting process to get construction approval. The latest eVTOL aircraft are quieter than conventional helicopters but still loud so anyone living and working nearby is going to complain. I'm sure they'll also raise environmental impact concerns in many areas because the noise will prevent the endangered yellow-footed salamander from laying eggs or whatever so working through the mandated mitigation process also takes years.
- dzhiurgis 1y agoIn your opinion, what's more likely to mainstream first - bipedal bots or eVTOL's (flying cars)?
- dopamean 1y agoSuper late to this but I'd take bipedal bots. That's not to say I'm particularly bullish on that idea though. Seems like it might be simpler to build purpose built robots for specific tasks. They'd probably be faster.
- dzhiurgis 1y agoI'm not entirely convinced. On one hand for bots you pretty much need AGI which Tesla is near solving. On another hand you need massive battery improvement for flights to move from toy to actually useful. But also there are more than 1 eVTOLS that already been certified for flight. Bots would admittedly be far more useful in helping with tons of various tasks (I'm sure each task will be a subscription), but eVTOLs would unlock new capability.
- ranger_danger 1y agoNo they're not.
- sbuttgereit 1y agoThis company must have some sort of marketing push underway... here's a video yesterday from Scott Manley that's basically the same thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wncRFPd69rg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wncRFPd69rg
- dardeaup 1y agoI hope not! There are far too many idiots driving who don't pay attention. Certainly don't need to put them in the sky.
- mgr86 1y agoI think this is a case where I simply don't know enough, but couldn't auto-pilot be a lot easier and safer when adding a new axis? A lot fewer things to run into in the air, and if you could just rise or fall a couple dozen feet to avoid an collision seems safer.
- codyb 1y agoIf it's autopilot you could probably also channel the vehicles to specific routes such that they maintain a road like set of channels where they're flying so the rest of us can not worry about random flying cars zooming around our yards and playgrounds. We already do this with planes which have corridors they fly along.
- saubeidl 1y agoYup, there's a bunch of Chinese startups building that rn. EHang [0] is one of the bigger ones. [0] https://www.ehang.com/ https://www.ehang.com/
- ngokevin 1y agoNot sure about the autopilot part (even planes autopilots follow a flight path). I'm not an expert either, but with roads, there are clear lanes and markings. And ability to generally see around you, and judge distance. Is what sets the lanes in the air are traffic controllers and flight plans? We're already short on traffic controllers. And there are already lots of near-misses (and not near-misses) even with the heavy regulation and control. Can't imagine having it as mass personal transit driven manually. There'd need to be a mass central system that controls everything, and in that case, might as well just keep it commercial The energy efficiency isn't great either on personal aircraft not an expert, just shooting the crap
- nradov 1y ago
- hollerith 1y agoI hope they stay away from my home -- it's already too noisy with machines of various kinds.
- atmavatar 1y agoWe're 10 years late. The future in Back to the Future part 2 was 2015-10-21. Now we need to get cracking on Mr. Fusion, so we can produce 1.21 GW of power with beer cans and egg cartons.
- SirFatty 1y agoI wonder how loud these things are...
- calmbonsai 1y agoNot that one. There's zero usable payload, extremely limited range, VFR only, and it's only "legal" is as a Part 103 (ultralight) exception. This is, essentially, an aviation hobby toy and not remotely practical for anyone even doing a short-hop urban commute as they would be banned in dense urban (class B,C, and D) airspace too.
- 3abiton 1y agoSo basically its legitimacy and novelty is based on a loop hole? Nonetheless a cool hobby project, and usually will rally people behind this concept and we might see some excitment there.
- nradov 1y agoIt's not a loop hole: this was an intentional move by Congress and the FAA. Ultralights have been a legal category for decades. The operating limits in terms of altitude, speed, weight, and airspace are strict enough that when one crashes it usually only kills the (expendable) pilot and there is minimal risk to innocent bystanders. The Pivotal BlackFly and similar aircraft are merely toys for wealthy thrill-seekers. Which is fine and could make for a viable niche industry. There is no viable path yet for "flying cars" to see widespread transportation use.
- SunshineTheCat 1y agoHaving a flying car would be nice, however I think if I had the choice which went mainstream, I would prefer a jetpack.
- shantara 1y agoThe aircraft looked sleek in Scott Manley’s video, but knowing it has only 20 mile range with the top speed of 60 mph makes it a little more than a toy.
- mulletbum 1y ago60 really isn't a problem at all. I will drive a 1,000 miles going 60, if I can do it in a straight line, it would still save a large amount of time. The problem is absolutely that 20mph range. Not useful at all.
- cmurf 1y agoPart 103 vehicles can't be operated over congested areas. FAA considers anything more than sparsely populated as congested. A single church in the middle of nowhere might be sparsely populated. I'm not even sure you can take off or land in your own neighborhood. Is a neighborhood a settlement? shrug https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/section-103.15 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/section-103.15 See Simmons (2010 legal interpretation from the FAA chief legal counsel. https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/FAA000000000LEGALINTPR2010071PDF.0001 https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/FAA000000000L... --- Also, no operations in common types of airspace: no bravo, charlie, or delta (or class e surface area). This may not be difficult seeing as they tend to exist over congested areas which must be avoided anyway. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/section-103.17 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/section-103.17 --- Part 103 ultralights are vehicles, not aircraft, therefore not general aviation. Therefore, I'm not sure who will insure these operations. It may be the realm of self-insured.
- xnx 1y agoIf you want an even cheaper more yolo version there's the Jetson One: https://jetson.com/ https://jetson.com/
- glimshe 1y agoImagine this with current paradigm of forced software updates. Just the other day a bunch of cars got bricked mid-drive because of one of these.
- tmtvl 1y agoYou leave the baker's, having picked up a loaf of bread for the next couple of days, look both ways before crossing the road, suddenly car drops on top of you from above, killing you instantly. If cars are the mode of transport for those who can't tolerate others' presence, flying cars are for those who can't tolerate others' existence.
- theideaofcoffee 1y agoPlease no. Most idiots on the road can barely handle two dimensions, let alone a third.
- gxonatano 1y agoThat's not a flying car, it's just a small airplane. For it to be a car it would need to be able to drive on roads. With, you know, wheels and stuff.
- IAmBroom 1y agoThat's a previously unheard-of definition.
- vorpalhex 1y agoNot only is it heard of, it exists, and is also the first line of the Wikipedia article for "flying car". > A flying car or roadable aircraft is a type of vehicle which can function both as a road vehicle and as an aircraft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_car https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_car Often times the ground capability is limited but it means your landing strip doesn't need to be next to your hanger - you can drive it down the road a few miles (usually after folding the wings in). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL-V_Liberty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL-V_Liberty
- Cytobit 1y agoIt's a combination of the definitions for "flying" and "car".
- gman2093 1y agoThis seems worse than the Dubai quadcopter taxis in general, but it would be cool in niche situations. I wonder if it can be adapted to land on water with inflatable landing gear.
- seanhunter 1y agoI can’t help but think of Mitchell and Webb’s “Jetpacks”. https://youtu.be/vDIojhOkV4w?si=_P8uS5dl4vu1TarQ https://youtu.be/vDIojhOkV4w?si=_P8uS5dl4vu1TarQ
- Eddy_Viscosity2 1y agoWe had flying cars for decades. They're called helicopters.
- bookofjoe 1y agounpaywalled link: https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/cars/i-test-drove-a-flying-car-get-ready-theyre-here-257b0ecf?st=ZX2zma&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/cars/i-test-drove-a-flying-car...
- KevinMS 1y agoWhat does this do different from a small helicopter? What problem does it solve a helicopter can't?