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Flying Cars Hop Slightly Closer With FAA Weight Waiver
JimFive writes "For years we've been waiting for the flying car to arrive. The FAA has made an exemption that moves this one step closer to reality. Terrafugia has been granted a weight limit exemption for a 'Roadable Airplane.' Next up is passing the federal highway safety tests."
That is a flying car. This is just an airplane that you can drive home to your garage so you don't have to pay exorbitant hangar fees.
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Yes you see I've already got one. The flying, though, isn't the difficult part. It's the landing that's a bitch. Gravity sucks. Quick change of inertia sucks more.
Not to disparage your opinion of the average person's flying ability as I'm sure most of us would agree with that, but..
I don't understand where this attitude came from that because you anticipate someone, some day, may crash into your house that you would ban anyone, ever, from having a flying vehicle. I know that's not precisely what you're saying, but I don't understand how you imagine a ban on these vehicles would actually work. For example, if you're suggesting that no-one should be able to fly one of these vehicles without first obtaining a pilot's license then I would say ok, no problem, couldn't agree with you more.. but I don't think you are. I think what you're saying is that you don't want there to be a populous movement to acquire a pilot's license as that will somehow make flying more dangerous. Or, maybe, you're saying that no aircraft should be allowed to fly near your house... but I find that a terribly strange position to take because there's already laws against that..
So, uhhh.. could you maybe clarify what exactly it is you're opposed to and what action you imagine should (or shouldn't) be taken to prevent it?
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Even if everyone got a pilot's license, I don't trust normal people with that kind of responsibility. What a dumb idea. Futuristic mental masturbation, really.
I see your point. Automated aircraft are here now, while automated surface vehicles are a long way off. So maybe the "flying car" when it comes will be largely automated. The pilot will say "take me to X,Y" and the computers will do the rest.
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But really not the point.
As a lot of people have pointed out, flying is harder than driving. A roadable airplane would appeal to an existing market of licensed pilots. The concept of a flying car is that you trade in the clapped out Taurus and take off in your new whirlygig from the dealer's parking lot and somehow make your way home without making an appearance on the nightly news -- assuming that such mayhem had not become too commonplace to make the news any more.
This project actually expands the potential market a bit, since they've managed to get it certified as a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA). You only need a Sport Pilot license to fly it, and you can get one more easily (and cheaply) than a Private Pilot license. There are restrictions (only one passenger, no night flying, and don't go near the major airports, for example -- and even with a Private Pilot license, the restrictions apply because it's an LSA) but it would be great for recreational use.
You'd still have to keep the old Taurus on the road, because you certainly wouldn't want someone rendering your $100K LSA un-airworthy while you left it in the supermarket parking lot.
"Roadable" means you don't have to leave it at the airport, and if you run into bad weather you can land and drive home, and if you fly down to the airport near the beach, you can drive the rest of the way -- if you think it's safe to park it off the airport.
Taking an airplane and making it roadable may not seem like much of an idea if you were thinking of the Jetsons, but if you're already a pilot, or are thinking about becoming one, it's a pretty neat idea.
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The Terrafugia does save money on rental cars, but much more importantly, it makes it practical to use small airports where rental cars are difficult or impossible to obtain. On round trips with several days between the outbound and inbound legs, it is difficult or impossible to be sure that the weather will be aceptable for the return flight. With a roadable airplane, if the weather turns bad you just drive home instead of flying.