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Fairly Realistic Flying Car Offered for 2009 Delivery
An anonymous reader writes to tell us about yet another promise of a flying car. The Register is reporting on the latest from Terrafugia Inc called the "Transition" which is a combination car and airplane that runs on unleaded gas. The idea is that it's a car that you can drive to the nearest airstrip and, with the touch of a button, convert to an airplane, fly to an airstrip close to your goal, then convert back to a car to reach your ultimate destination. Of course, how many times have we been promised flying cars only to suffer in perpetual disappointment.
...when cars fly.
Plus it's a converted Datsun, comes with a golden gun/cigarette lighter, and a midget bartender.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
Can I get my own cool Spectrum mask?
Phew, being "fairly realistic" is pretty high up my list of desirable features for any air transportation I use.
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I can recount the story of a guy (air force pilot under training) at the RNZAF Base Wigram in Christchurch, New Zealand who, after quite a few late night beers decided to drive to the service station (US=gas station) to buy a meat pie (US=Pot pie).
Only thing is that he had no transport other than his (own personal) airplane. So he wanders out to the ramp, jumps in, and taxi's his aircraft past the main gate onto the road and to the gas station just outside the Base..
Of course this was back in the day when 'it wasn't so bad to drink and drive', and i'm sure he did a bit of a 'rug dance' in front of his CO on Monday morning... but went onto a rather successful career.
This is not a 'flying car'. Yes, it may go on the road, and may actually fly. But it does neither well. Very impractical for actual driving with those blind spots, and if you're flying, why are you hauling a heavy roadable drivetrain around?
550lb total payload. -120lb gas, -200lb pilot + 150lb passenger = 80lb left. What...you were eplanning on bringing a little luggage?
This won't ever become mainstream without a serious amount of automated control. We already have enough problems driving in two dimensions. I can't even begin to imagine driving in three.
Ah... just checked with someone that knows the guy... that was PLTOFF Murray in his Midget Mustang .... 1988.
So flying cars, no. Driving airplanes... yes.
What's worse, you'd probably see some idiot "driver" flying 300 miles with his right turn signal on.
...phil
"For a list of the ways which technology has failed to improve our quality of life, press 3."
This looks very similar to the AeroCar on display at the Seattle Museum of Flight. http://www.airventuremuseum.org/collection/aircraft/Taylor%20Aerocar.asp From what I recall the AeroCar actually came close to serial production back in the 40s-50s, however was ultimately dropped.
Yes! Drug-trafficking, immigration, etc. These things would become totally unmanagable. And what about stupid teenagers that run out of gas in the middle of the atlantic? But even though the technology wouldn't be publicly available, that is not to say that it won't be useful for some purposes. Furthermore, who needs justification for cool technology to exist?
Just imagine, driving a car from the street onto an airstrip, with several gallons of liquids in the tank and a trunk big enough to house a thermonuclear device. Why do you need a button for transfoming it into an airplane? Airport security will dismantle it anyway before allowing it onto the runway and I am sure for a couple of dollars extra, they'll reassemble your car as an airplane. Saves a lot in production cost, if you do not need all the fancy pneumatics, hydraulics and transforming gizmos...
If the average person is 60 times more likely to die in a car crash than plane crash, what are the odds of dying in a flying car crash?
If a baby duck is a "duckling," why would anyone want to eat "dumplings?"
The construction of a plane is nowhere nearly hardy enough for typical road use. If you end up hitting just a bit of potholes, speedbumps, etc, are you ready to that vehicle in the air? Hell, cars these days are build with crash bumpers that are supposed to take a 5mph bump without driveability-affecting damage - no planes have them. The undercarriage of a car includes some of the world's most advanced engineering tuned for stability, handling, suspension and road noise - which adds significant weight. A plane has a few wheels (one that turns) and struts, nothing so complicated - because its light and just durable enough for landing on the runway. TFA mentions drivetrain and wing storage as two other clashing designs, but there are several more (road worthiness, air worthiness, strength, durability, luxury, maintenance).
It comes down to tuning for the target environment. A car is not a boat. A plane is not a car. Shoes are not wheels. Targeting two has predictable results: Everyone is let down.
From the latin, "terra" meaning "ground" and "fugia" meaning "flight into."
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Gorilla influenced plug in hybrid SUV?
Alright, so long as it doesn't climb to the top of the Empire State Building to tap power off of that big light bulb up there.
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That'd be like so embarrassing. Stuck three thousand feet in the air, waiting around until dad gets there with a gas can.
"Don't ask, don't tell" is an American thing. I believe the British equivalent is "don't ask, join the Royal Navy".
My parents live in a little village in Scotland called Lochcarron. A few years ago, there was a flourishing salmon farming industry (now collapsed, alas). There were hatcheries in the lochs in the mountains, and fully fledged farms in the sea lochs.
When the hatchlings in the mountain lochs got large enough, they got ferried down to the sea lochs. This happened by helicopter, presumably for speed. So, at the appropriate time of year, they'd hire in a helicopter and pilot who would spend a week or so flying around moving the young salmon.
Where did the pilot live while doing this? In the Lochcarron Hotel, of course. Where did they leave the helicopter? In the hotel car park, of course.
In a parking bay.
The helicopter was small enough that it would park very neatly in a double bay. It would always be parked in the one in the corner, and the helicopter landing skids would always be exactly 20cm from the curb in both directions. There'd usually be some cars lined up next to it, too, with the rotors hanging over them. It would leave in the morning, and come back in the afternoon. I don't know where it got refueled --- I doubt you can get Jet A1 from the local garage.