Why Flying Cars will Probably Never Happen

[Loyal]

Heard a conversation about flying cars, the product of which dispelled a cherished futuristic invention I always hoped to see in my lifetime. Since the Jetsons, I always dreamed of a car that could fly in the air which is limited by no road, which could dock on the side of a skyscraper. No parking spot at home on the street would be needed.

Similarly, there is a personal way to fly through the air that is similar to my Jetsons' flying car: Jetpacks. Daredevils use these today and it is spectacular to think a person can fly with one of those. But the problem is that when they stop working in mid air, death rate is almost 100%. The same is true with a flying car, which must be able to hover at a height for it to be at all practical in replacing a road bound car.

It must be that when power fails in a flying car, the normal state must be anti-gravitational at a fixed level when power ceases. That way, a personal car will not float away into the atmosphere while docked and occupants would just float until a rescue vehicle arrived instead of dying a horrible death upon impact

So, the idea will probably never happen in our lifetimes, if ever.

 

[Prime Time]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/flying-car-startup-backed-google-founder-offers-test-210639148.html

Flying car startup backed by Google founder offers test flights

Flying car project Kitty Hawk, funded by Google co-founder Larry Page, unveiled a "Flyer" model it described as "an exciting first step to sharing the freedom of flight," as seen in this handout image (AFP Photo/Handout)

San Francisco (AFP) - A flying car project backed by Google co-founder Larry Page was closer to take-off on Wednesday, with a model for test flights by aspiring buyers.

Kitty Hawk, funded by Page, unveiled a "Flyer" model it described as "an exciting first step to sharing the freedom of flight."

The company was created last year in Google's home town of Mountain View, California, and has been testing a prototype in New Zealand.

Images and details were available at a freshly launched website at flyer.aero, and CNN posted coverage of a reporter taking to the air in a Flyer over a lake at a test site near Las Vegas.

Kitty Hawk chief executive Sebastian Thrun, who founded the Google X lab devoted to "moonshots" such as self-driving cars and internet-synched eyewear, was quoted by CNN as saying piloting Flyer was as easy playing the video game "Minecraft."

"Making Flyer accessible, which is what we do at our Lake Las Vegas training facility, helps more people experience the freedom and possibilities of vehicles of the future," a Kitty Hawk spokeswoman told AFP.

"Our immediate priority is to invite small groups of people -- customers, influencers, media and community members - to experience the freedom of flight here in our newly opened training facility."

People interested in buying Flyers were invited at the website to apply for an invitation to do so, with no price specified.

An early version of Flyer was shown off last year.

The electric aircraft had 10 small lift rotors on its wings, making it capable of vertical take-off and landing like a helicopter.

Kitty Hawk said that at 15 meters (50 feet) away, it sounded about as lound as a lawn mower, while from 250 feet away the volume was on par with a loud conversation.

Test flights by first-timers were over water, with the top speed limited to 32 kilometers per hour (20 mph) and the altitude to no more than three meters.

The uncovered cockpit appeared big enough for one person, with their head poking out as it might from a go-kart.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuxbQG4piW4

"Flyer is designed to be easy to fly and flown for recreational purposes over water and uncongested areas," the website said.

"Flyer is Kitty Hawk's first personal flying vehicle and the first step to make flying part of everyday life."

The new flying machine is one of several concept vehicles being testing, with Uber and others in the mix.

Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in 1998, starting out in a Silicon Valley garage and transforming into one of the world's largest companies.

He remains chief executive of Google-parent Alphabet but the Kitty Hawk project is a personal pursuit, not part of the tech giant's operations.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz0wLD_02nQ

 

[bubbaramfan]

will texting while flying earn a ticket?

 

[Angry Ram]

I just want a Transformer that can leap over my daily traffic jams and squash douchebag drivers...or at the very least pick up their car and give it a good shaking to show em how much of a douchebag they are.

 

[Prime Time]

Or a Mario Kart that shoots out banana peels and other objects.

 

[Angry Ram]

Or a Mario Kart that shoots out banana peels and other objects.

Nothings worse than the BLUE SHELL OF DEATH.

 

[Prime Time]

Nothings worse than the BLUE SHELL OF DEATH.

Mario Kart was my favorite video game of all time. I played it every day for years until I began having mini-seizures and other weird symptoms. No more video games for PT in over ten years. :sadwalk:

 

[IowaRam]

I still want one of these

 

[IowaRam]

anyone ever remember Popular Mechanics , they always had like the best covers