6 ms·

AeroMobil: Flying car

65 points by houseofshards 13y ago

dm2 13y ago
Flying car prototypes have been around for a while, this one is nothing special. They're basically a street legal airplane, they are not good cars and they are not good airplanes. It's like combining a mouse and keyboard, the end result is an overpriced inferior product. How much do these things cost? A lot, more than a small airplane and a car combined. When will they be available for purchase? Unknown, they're all in the prototype stages, probably not within the next 10 years because of lack of demand. Autonomous vehicles will be cheaper, require zero skill to drive, will be safer, will be more fuel efficient, much quieter, and will become very common very soon, flying cars will not unless there is a major breakthrough in propulsion. I'm glad people are tying the flying car idea, but it just doesn't seem practical in the near future. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_car_(aircraft) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_car_(aircraft) https://www.google.com/search?q=flying+car&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=flying+car&tbm=isch http://www.terrafugia.com/ http://www.terrafugia.com/ http://moller.com/dev/ http://moller.com/dev/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_Reconfigurable_Embedded_System http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_Reconfigurable_Embedded_...
- jacobolus 13y ago
  > It's like combining a mouse and keyboard, the end result is an overpriced inferior product. You’re in luck! Someone is making one of these: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/70308014/kings-assembly-a-computer-mouse-full-of-awesome https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/70308014/kings-assembly...
  - dm2 13y ago
    That actually looks pretty interesting and well thought out, I kind of want to try one. The finger position looks weird though, much more curled fingers than my normal finger position on a keyboard. Spaceship keyboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSrdlacQIe4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSrdlacQIe4
- hyp0 13y ago
  > combining a mouse and keyboard Arguably, touchscreens. Which are inferior to both, but have other benefits. I can't imagine an analog for flying cars... but maybe there is one.
dalerus 13y ago
I was hoping for a hovercraft.
- nashequilibrium 13y ago
  lol, i just tweeted this, we were not expecting a car-aeroplane.
bananas 13y ago
Flying car means flying idiots. Idiots are bad enough when they are attached to the ground.
- danellis 13y ago
  Why do flying cars mean flying idiots any more than light aircraft currently do?
  - primitivesuave 13y ago
    There is a relatively idiot-proof licensing method for preventing idiots from entering the airspace.
    - danellis 13y ago
      Exactly. The FAA isn't going to just start handing out PPLs to anyone with a driver's license.
primitivesuave 13y ago
One big problem with flying cars is that the potential to wreak havoc is enormous.
wsr 13y ago
It's very impressive that they are able to keep the entire car under 450kg. As a comparison, SMART, one of the smallest car we have on the road today is 750kg. This is the car that people make fun of, and tip over for fun: http://jalopnik.com/vandals-are-flipping-over-smart-cars-in-san-francisco-1560004013 http://jalopnik.com/vandals-are-flipping-over-smart-cars-in-...
- dm2 13y ago
  This trend started in Europe by people flipping them over into canals. The media hesitated on reporting it because they didn't want copy-cats. I wonder if insurance for Smart cars is higher in some areas than it should be because they take into account the higher risk of it being vandalized or destroyed. They should put a camera on the bottom that takes a picture when the vehicle is turned over, destroying someones car isn't funny.
cottonseed 13y ago
What's a pre-prototype?
EGreg 13y ago
How does this happen without jet engines?
- dm2 13y ago
  It has a propeller on the back attached to the engine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotax_912 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotax_912 I'm guessing the drive-shaft can be switched to power the propeller or the wheels.
neverminder 13y ago
This will never hit the market until way more efficient propulsion technologies are developed allowing for a hovering car so to speak. Unfortunately invention of such a technology would be a feat equivalent to discovering electricity.
- aquanext 13y ago
  We still don't understand what exactly gravity is -- we just know that it's a thing that does stuff... if we can figure that out, then we'll be somewhere. You're right though.
  - subb 13y ago
    "Turning off" gravity is not a good idea. You'll smash yourself in the nearest object as the earth continue to spin and move through space without you.
    - watson 13y ago
      Interesting thought... but wouldn't your body already have the same speed and direction as before the switch-off? The switch-off would only stop external forces from altering your speed and direction. So I would estimate that you have plenty of time to steer clear of stuff after you turned off the gravity effect. It kind of similar to switching off the autopilot in an airplane. After doing so you have to take manually control of your position in space, but you don't instantaneously stop flying.
      - subb 13y ago
        Mmm, well, more or less. You will indeed keep your speed, but you also keep your direction, so you will basically be "slingshotted" toward space. The effect is similar to a hammer throw at the Olympics. In fact, you will probably be limited by your terminal velocity because of air friction.
com2kid 13y ago
Pardon me if a 124MPH airplane seems unimpressive. I seriously question the overall difference in transit time given one would have to drive to and from a regional airport. I wonder what the cruising speed is? Presumably below the top speed. A 100mph cruising speed is sort of meh compared to a 70mph (or 80MPH realistically) cruising speed in a car over long distances on the interstate. Of course being able to fly in a straight line makes a huge difference, but again, I wonder what the overall savings is when factoring in airport travel time.
- risratorn 13y ago
  I for one wouldn't mind skipping the daily traffic jams and flying to a regional airport instead of sitting in my car 1h30m twice a day. Ofcourse everything depends on the actual location of the airport but I can imagine for some people this might save them some time. Then again if everybody will start to use flying cars, we'll have traffic jams towards the airport and a whole slew of other logistical problems. Imho this will never become mainstream but has the potential to attract a small number of users.
  - spada 13y ago
    Jesus. You burn 3hrs a day in commuting? How long have you been doing this?
- sonofedwin 13y ago
  This is just a prototype and to me, it seems extremely impressive! I honestly cannot wait to see what the full version is going to end up looking like. I think that after a few prototypes the speed should definitely increase.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- eloisant 13y ago
  I don't know, if you live in mountains or an archipelago maybe it makes sense.
swatkat 13y ago
I've been following Moller Skycar since 90s. It's getting nowhere. Good to see more companies experimenting in this segment. Hoping they would come out of perpetual prototype phase :) By the way, Moller's design looks more SciFi-esque, without those folding wings :)
- brc 13y ago
  I think by now we can safely classify the Moller Skycar as vaporware designed to pull in cash from suckers.
enscr 13y ago
Safe air corridors is an innovation that should predate flying cars. Safe for occupants & safe for surroundings. Fender bender in air can cause a lot more damage with gravitational force.
Aardwolf 13y ago
Pretty cool, though I think something only counts as a "science fiction" flying car if it doesn't have large wings or large rotors. Only small rotors, jet engines, anti-gravity, etc... :)
jval 13y ago
Wow, when did HN get overtaken by haters? Ok, it is just a prototype, but I don't see anyone here making their own flying car. I for one think it is pretty cool, even if it is just a concept. Obviously serves a very specific use case but if it had the range I could definitely see lots of people buying this to get around in Australia. The Sydney-Melbourne air corridor is one of the busiest in the world, and if little plane cars like this could land in small airports without making a lot of sound... who knows. I could see a lot of businessmen forking out even a million dollars for one of these given a lot of them are spending close to that on their Ferraris. Here's to innovation. And even if this never goes anywhere - here's to someone having the audacity to create something like this.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- mk3 13y ago
  The concept is flawed for this one. As you need to combine two different things in one. Also on their demo video you can see that it's quite unstable. Most of the guys who are actively flying wouldn't consider this "plane" as a good investment. Also as someone pointed out there was such thing before. And I really expected someone released VTOL airship, which is basically combining helicopter and plane, you are getting the possibility to land in your yard, but also speeds of plane while flying.

65 points by houseofshards 13y ago

dm2 13y ago

Flying car prototypes have been around for a while, this one is nothing special. They're basically a street legal airplane, they are not good cars and they are not good airplanes. It's like combining a mouse and keyboard, the end result is an overpriced inferior product. How much do these things cost? A lot, more than a small airplane and a car combined. When will they be available for purchase? Unknown, they're all in the prototype stages, probably not within the next 10 years because of lack of demand. Autonomous vehicles will be cheaper, require zero skill to drive, will be safer, will be more fuel efficient, much quieter, and will become very common very soon, flying cars will not unless there is a major breakthrough in propulsion. I'm glad people are tying the flying car idea, but it just doesn't seem practical in the near future. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_car_(aircraft) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_car_(aircraft) https://www.google.com/search?q=flying+car&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=flying+car&tbm=isch http://www.terrafugia.com/ http://www.terrafugia.com/ http://moller.com/dev/ http://moller.com/dev/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_Reconfigurable_Embedded_System http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_Reconfigurable_Embedded_...

jacobolus 13y ago
> It's like combining a mouse and keyboard, the end result is an overpriced inferior product. You’re in luck! Someone is making one of these: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/70308014/kings-assembly-a-computer-mouse-full-of-awesome https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/70308014/kings-assembly...
- dm2 13y ago
  That actually looks pretty interesting and well thought out, I kind of want to try one. The finger position looks weird though, much more curled fingers than my normal finger position on a keyboard. Spaceship keyboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSrdlacQIe4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSrdlacQIe4
hyp0 13y ago
> combining a mouse and keyboard Arguably, touchscreens. Which are inferior to both, but have other benefits. I can't imagine an analog for flying cars... but maybe there is one.

dalerus 13y ago

I was hoping for a hovercraft.

nashequilibrium 13y ago
lol, i just tweeted this, we were not expecting a car-aeroplane.

bananas 13y ago

Flying car means flying idiots. Idiots are bad enough when they are attached to the ground.

danellis 13y ago
Why do flying cars mean flying idiots any more than light aircraft currently do?
- primitivesuave 13y ago
  There is a relatively idiot-proof licensing method for preventing idiots from entering the airspace.
  - danellis 13y ago
    Exactly. The FAA isn't going to just start handing out PPLs to anyone with a driver's license.

primitivesuave 13y ago

One big problem with flying cars is that the potential to wreak havoc is enormous.

wsr 13y ago

It's very impressive that they are able to keep the entire car under 450kg. As a comparison, SMART, one of the smallest car we have on the road today is 750kg. This is the car that people make fun of, and tip over for fun: http://jalopnik.com/vandals-are-flipping-over-smart-cars-in-san-francisco-1560004013 http://jalopnik.com/vandals-are-flipping-over-smart-cars-in-...

dm2 13y ago
This trend started in Europe by people flipping them over into canals. The media hesitated on reporting it because they didn't want copy-cats. I wonder if insurance for Smart cars is higher in some areas than it should be because they take into account the higher risk of it being vandalized or destroyed. They should put a camera on the bottom that takes a picture when the vehicle is turned over, destroying someones car isn't funny.

cottonseed 13y ago

What's a pre-prototype?

EGreg 13y ago

How does this happen without jet engines?

dm2 13y ago
It has a propeller on the back attached to the engine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotax_912 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotax_912 I'm guessing the drive-shaft can be switched to power the propeller or the wheels.

neverminder 13y ago

This will never hit the market until way more efficient propulsion technologies are developed allowing for a hovering car so to speak. Unfortunately invention of such a technology would be a feat equivalent to discovering electricity.

aquanext 13y ago
We still don't understand what exactly gravity is -- we just know that it's a thing that does stuff... if we can figure that out, then we'll be somewhere. You're right though.
- subb 13y ago
  "Turning off" gravity is not a good idea. You'll smash yourself in the nearest object as the earth continue to spin and move through space without you.
  - watson 13y ago
    Interesting thought... but wouldn't your body already have the same speed and direction as before the switch-off? The switch-off would only stop external forces from altering your speed and direction. So I would estimate that you have plenty of time to steer clear of stuff after you turned off the gravity effect. It kind of similar to switching off the autopilot in an airplane. After doing so you have to take manually control of your position in space, but you don't instantaneously stop flying.
    - subb 13y ago
      Mmm, well, more or less. You will indeed keep your speed, but you also keep your direction, so you will basically be "slingshotted" toward space. The effect is similar to a hammer throw at the Olympics. In fact, you will probably be limited by your terminal velocity because of air friction.

com2kid 13y ago

Pardon me if a 124MPH airplane seems unimpressive. I seriously question the overall difference in transit time given one would have to drive to and from a regional airport. I wonder what the cruising speed is? Presumably below the top speed. A 100mph cruising speed is sort of meh compared to a 70mph (or 80MPH realistically) cruising speed in a car over long distances on the interstate. Of course being able to fly in a straight line makes a huge difference, but again, I wonder what the overall savings is when factoring in airport travel time.

risratorn 13y ago
I for one wouldn't mind skipping the daily traffic jams and flying to a regional airport instead of sitting in my car 1h30m twice a day. Ofcourse everything depends on the actual location of the airport but I can imagine for some people this might save them some time. Then again if everybody will start to use flying cars, we'll have traffic jams towards the airport and a whole slew of other logistical problems. Imho this will never become mainstream but has the potential to attract a small number of users.
- spada 13y ago
  Jesus. You burn 3hrs a day in commuting? How long have you been doing this?
sonofedwin 13y ago
This is just a prototype and to me, it seems extremely impressive! I honestly cannot wait to see what the full version is going to end up looking like. I think that after a few prototypes the speed should definitely increase.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
eloisant 13y ago
I don't know, if you live in mountains or an archipelago maybe it makes sense.

swatkat 13y ago

I've been following Moller Skycar since 90s. It's getting nowhere. Good to see more companies experimenting in this segment. Hoping they would come out of perpetual prototype phase :) By the way, Moller's design looks more SciFi-esque, without those folding wings :)

brc 13y ago
I think by now we can safely classify the Moller Skycar as vaporware designed to pull in cash from suckers.

enscr 13y ago

Safe air corridors is an innovation that should predate flying cars. Safe for occupants & safe for surroundings. Fender bender in air can cause a lot more damage with gravitational force.

Aardwolf 13y ago

Pretty cool, though I think something only counts as a "science fiction" flying car if it doesn't have large wings or large rotors. Only small rotors, jet engines, anti-gravity, etc... :)

jval 13y ago

Wow, when did HN get overtaken by haters? Ok, it is just a prototype, but I don't see anyone here making their own flying car. I for one think it is pretty cool, even if it is just a concept. Obviously serves a very specific use case but if it had the range I could definitely see lots of people buying this to get around in Australia. The Sydney-Melbourne air corridor is one of the busiest in the world, and if little plane cars like this could land in small airports without making a lot of sound... who knows. I could see a lot of businessmen forking out even a million dollars for one of these given a lot of them are spending close to that on their Ferraris. Here's to innovation. And even if this never goes anywhere - here's to someone having the audacity to create something like this.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
mk3 13y ago
The concept is flawed for this one. As you need to combine two different things in one. Also on their demo video you can see that it's quite unstable. Most of the guys who are actively flying wouldn't consider this "plane" as a good investment. Also as someone pointed out there was such thing before. And I really expected someone released VTOL airship, which is basically combining helicopter and plane, you are getting the possibility to land in your yard, but also speeds of plane while flying.