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This Taero 4000 reminds me of the Sokol A400 Flying Car. I haven't looked deeply, but I'll bet some of the same people are involved.

It's ashame that the Solotrek died so fast (see more about it here).

try looking: here,
here,
here,
and here
with a bunch more
here

try looking: here,
here,
here,
and here
with a bunch more
here

try looking: here,
here,
here,
and here
with a bunch more
here

try looking: here,
here,
here,
and here
with a bunch more
here

try looking: here,
here,
here,
and here
with a bunch more
here

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I'm not griping (really, I'm not) but the submission chosen for this item was a poor one. I submitted this item -- once on Tues. Dec. 7 and an UPDATE (read carefully before responding) on Fri. Dec. 10 -- with plenty of links to detailed info, and it was rejected both times. Which one do you think was more useful?

Dec. 7: SoloTrek XFV personal VTOL flight vehicle on eBay
Trek Aerospace announced it will auction a protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle on eBay this Friday, with a starting bid of about $50,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

UPDATE Dec. 10: SoloTrek personal VTOL aircraft on eBay
Trek Aerospace's eBay auction of its protoype SoloTrek XFV ducted-fan Vertical Take-Off and Landing flight vehicle started today (Friday), with an opening bid of about $50,000. As I write this, 46 people have bid and the current bid is $175,000. Trek's CEO says he thinks the seven-day auction's winning bid will exceed $1-million. Technical info, photos and video are available. The company is also working on an unmanned aerial vehicle and closed-cockpit versions for one, or two people.

I watched the flight video and I couldn't help thinking that they need to hook up with Segway to iron out all of the stability and usability problems.

Ground effect does not apply to this type of aircraft.

For an airplane, "ground effect" is the term applied to the tendency of a wing to exhibit increased aerodynamic efficiency (basically more lift and less drag) when it's within roughly a half-wingspan of the ground. It's caused, at least in layman's terms, by a cushion of air forming beneath the wing and the ground, and by the reduction of a drag-inducing wingtip vortex.

This vehicle has no horizontal wing flying thru the air. So we can eliminate the obvious cushion of air.

Now, a helicopter demonstrates ground effect for the same basic reason as an airplane, within half a rotor-disc-diameter or so of the ground, and also because for a hovering vehicle, the downwash tends to bounce back up again to provide a additional cushion. Here's a primer on helo ground effect. As you can see, the ground effect is largely produced by the ground limiting development of a tip vortex.

Just for completeness, we can also address ground effect for a hovering jet, like the Harrier Jump Jet. In that case, the downwash bouncing up certainly provides a cushion, and the Harrier has strakes under the fuselage designed exclusively to capture that cushion of air and enhance it - kind of like a hovercraft. But for a hovering jet, you have an additional problem - the exhaust gases also tend to get reingested by the engine, lowering the engine efficiency. One of the most vexing problems for the Harrier, and also for the newer Joint Strike Fighter designs, is "hot gas reingestion". In fact, if you hover these aircraft pointing downwind, you can snuff out the engine due to lack of oxygen. (This issue is probably not a big problem for the high-bypass arrangement of the SoloTrek, where very little exhaust gas is produced.)

Now to address this vehicle. The lift is provided by ducted fans. Therefore there is no tip vortex, because the duct prevents one from forming. In fact, the duct itself provides the same effect as ground effect, by eliminating the efficiency loss due to the vortex. The only relevant part of the "ground effect" here is therefore the bouncing cushion of air. But the fans on this vehicle are mounted so high above the ground (about 7 feet), and the total thrust is so low, that a fairly minimal ground effect cushion can be developed. In fact, in the pictures on Ebay, at least one of the photos shows the thing high enough up (the fans are at least 12 feet off the ground) that any ground effect that might exist would be almost totally eliminated.

So it's extremely unlikely that this vehicle's performance would change significantly with climbing away from the ground.

Considering the facts that

• the name SoloTrek looks alot like StarTrek
• the font of their logo is remarkably similar to the font used for TNG
• they obviously are into science fiction

I started writing this post trying to make a joke, but now I have thought some more about it; dunno...

The eBay article features a link to the company designing this stuff and they have a very cool concept for a two seater: duotrek. I WANT one of these. No more fucking parking problems, that is if the roof of my appartment is strong enough...

The SoloTrek will likely be available commercially at some point: http://www.solotrek.com/

The Moller Air Car is less likely: http://www.moller.com/skycar/

MULE(TM) Mobile Unmanned Lift Enabler

A PRACTICAL VTOL PLATFORM CONCEPT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

The MULE tactical UAV is a vertical take-off and landing JIT logistics platform meeting today's military mission-payload-delivery requirements. It is designed for ultra-high reliability, very low dB & IR signatures, and minimal field servicing, maintenance and overhaul. The MULE will efficiently, and autonomously, re-supply remote locations, retrieve downed-pilots, and/or perform surveillance and reconnaissance.

Preliminary Specifications and Predicted Performance: (Sea level; Standard day conditions)

MINI-MULE *** MAXI-MULE
Normal Gross Take Off Weight - 700 Lbs. *** 1500 Lbs
Fuel Capacity - 100 Lbs. (15 Gal.)*** 300 Lbs. (45 Gal.)
Mission Payload (net of fuel) - 200 Lbs. *** 500 Lbs.
Empty Weight - 400 Lbs. *** 700 Lbs.
Hover/Loiter Endurance - 2+ Hours *** 2.5+ Hours
Max Range - 130 Nautical Miles *** 350 Nautical Miles
Min/Max Speed - 0 to 115 Knots *** 0 to 160 Knots
Engine (Advanced Int. Combustion) - 120 HP *** 300 HP
Fuel Requirements - Heavy Fuel *** Heavy Fuel
Transport Crate Dimensions - 60" X 60" X 96" *** T.B.D.

Heck, just look at these things.

The prospects remind me of several cartoon series

here you go:
VTOL
this is the way to go.

1. Many flying cars will agravate pollution problem. Aircraft need bigger engines than cars do. That would be a major problem in L.A. or Seattle.

but they would be in route for less time.
2. Flying cars will always be more expensive than regular cars. They need bigger engines, radios, wings, etc.

not one of these
3. This is friggin'dangerous! A lot of drivers can't drive a regular car very well, so how will they manage flying a plane.Also, when one crashes over a populated area, the flying car will slam into buildings and catch fire just like at the WTC. There would be collisions all the time. Inexperienced pilots would be killed in storms, from stalling, and from running out of gas all the time.

you would need proper automation for most of this. but the solotrek(see previous) minimizes these dangers, plus you would probably still have to fly over "road ways"
oh, and invoking the WTC in your comment will only cause a knew jerk reaction. It does not have anything to do with this.
4. Our air traffic control system can barely handle the planes buzzing around today. It could never direct millions of losers in their flying cars.

this is why you would use a system that is distributed betwen all the vehicals, so each vehicls knows whats in its sphere of space.
5. How the hell would it be able to safely land, say in downtown Manhattan.
depends on the vehicle, in this case it would have to be VTOL.
or a large above building strip ;)
or central park ;)
Can this be done at this moment, safely? no. but these problems can be solved.
do I want to see "air cars"? only if I get to say who gets to operate them!

this is what I want, plus you can put a parachute on the whole assemply.
Personal VTOL

And, no Navy man would accept a ship made out of metal, because every fool knows that metal can't float. If the "Titanic" had been made of wood, more people might have been saved (given that the alloy used became brittle and snapped in cold water, the ship might not have even sunk if made of wood). So, why don't we make all passenger craft out of wood today?

Someone needs to point out to you that no US spacecraft has ever had a *USEABLE* flight emergency escape system. Not Mercury. Not Gemini. Not Apollo. Not the Space Shuttle. The escape rocket on top of the Apollo capsule was only usable *before* launch; once the Saturn was a second or two into flight, the escape rocket was useless. After the "Challenger" disaster, NASA investigated ways of providing an emergency escape system for the Shuttle, *but it couldn't find one*! (The best it could do was provide a low-altitude escape jump, or the likely-fatal emergency return-to-base maneuver). As one astronaut who flew on the Shuttle pointed out in a lecture I attended, NASA assured the shuttle astronauts that the Shuttle was virtually failsafe, even though NASA kept putting explosive detonators on the shuttle so it could destroy the vehicle in the event of a bad launch! Incidentally, all rockets require power to stay up in the air; the Shuttle is the only one used that can so much as glide without power.

Don't be too sure that Air Force people won't accept flight vehicles that have to be powered to remain in flight. And, if you think pilots don't like living on the edge, have a look at this:

http://www.solotrek.com/

The thing that you have either missed or chose to miss is that UCAV is not a ROBOT vehicle, it is merely unmanned.

UCAV is controlled by humans in remote locations, presumably out of harms way. UCAV does have some automated functionality, but nothing more complicated than cruise control.

Sheesh. You replace the pilot with a camera and suddenly everyone starts talking talking Asimov and Heinlein.

Hey, I've got an idea, while we watch the UCAV demo, lets put on our flying backpacks and eat some Soylent Green for lunch.

The moral of this story is that things are usually not as much as they appear to be, be it nifty, insidious, nefarious, exciting, whatever.

which can be found here, http://www.solotrek.com. it's looking good.

This toy's been in development a while - the web site's Solotrek.com. Hope they can make it fly - and navigable by mere mortals, not just Special Forces folk.

For those of you out there, who want to see pictures here is the url to see the prototype pictures.

Personally, I think that within 20 years we could be ordering these from Thinkgeek. But for now, I am sure that the price will be a little too high.

Oh, and if anyone is waiting on their flying car, check this out. Again price here is the restricting factor $400,000 US for a car. The one stipulation is that you have to probably get some sort of pilot license.

From their site:

SoloTrek XFV is a brand new kind of flying machine that you step on, strap on, and fly. This ultra-compact aircraft lets you takeoff vertically, dash to your destination, then land literally anywhere. Using ordinary 87-octane gasoline, SoloTrek can hover for up to 3 hours, reach speeds of up to 70 knots, and traverse distances of up to 150 nautical miles. SoloTrek has been designed to be safe, easy to fly, and easy to maintain.

Anyone wishing to find more information should have a look at www.solotrek.com. They have a lot more piccies and the FAQ which will give you a vague idea of what will happen in the event of an engine failure, amongst other things :)

-- dmsmith
C:\ is the root of all evil.

Consultation with the UK branch office revealed no clue of how long "1Å hours" is. Any ideas?

Using ordinary 87-octane gasoline, SoloTrek can hover for up to 3 hours, reach speeds of up to 70 knots, and traverse distances of up to 150 nautical miles.

you know, my selection is rather simple.

cheap gift - handspring
mid ranged - Mac Cube (never owned a mac, this looks sweet .... doubt if it falls in range of a $1500 value though).
real gift - personal helicopter

well, thats all.

........ because you are antisocial too!

A Better link.

Imagine the looks you'd get as you descend from the sky to the local cafe for a quick cappuccino, strapped into your personal VTOL (Vertical TakeOff and Landing), fuel efficient, high-reliability personal flyer.

Who needs a car!
All I want for Xmas is a SoloTrek XFV.
(Said to cost around the price of a high-end sports car)

Check it out on Millenium Jet Inc.'s site www.solotrek.com.

Solo-Trek Personal Aircraft
Forgot the link

Read this and quit whining, FUDmaster. The aircraft has a built-in ballistic (rocket-launched) parachute system.

Email me.
Don't trust anyone over 90000.

The vehicle has a governor on it that "encourages" the pilot to land when the fuel level reaches a certain level.

These Millenium Jet guys really did think of everything.

Email me.
Don't trust anyone over 90000.

Interesting. I saw some links to this waaaaay back on Ars Technica last year when this company was just getting started. Even then they had a halfway-working prototype. If you think the Solotrek is cool, check out the DuoTrek, which is almost insanely cool with a pressurized cabin and 4 different vectorable engines. No word on projected costs yet, unfortunately.

Email me.
Don't trust anyone over 90000.