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Where The Hell Are The Flying Cars? It's The 21st Century!

rynner2 said:
trevp66 said:
Yep clearly NOT a flying car, but a 'roadable' plane.
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picky picky picky! ;)

All planes are roadable - a runway is just a flat straight road! 8)
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Of course they aren't! Not unless all planes have folding wings, which they don't. And a runway is a runway, not a road. I haven't ever taken a short cut across Heathrow in my car, nor do I expect to see a Cessna driving along my street.
And look at the pics of that thing - what an ugly brute. In the same way that a sofabed is no good as either a sofa or a bed, these things are probably no good as either a car or a plane. What a waste of an enormous amount of cash too. Those people are idiots. ;)
 
US military developing flying car
US military commanders are considering procuring flying cars to transport troops around the battlefield.
10:43AM GMT 01 Dec 2010

The vehicle would function just like a big four-wheel-drive Humvee when on the ground.

But it would also be able to take off like a helicopter and fly away from trouble or to avoid enemy road blocks.

Part of the American research and development money, worth £41 million and led by American defence and aerospace firm AAI, has gone to US firm Terrafugia which is already developing the world's first flying production car.

The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wants to develop a four person flyable and road worthy vehicle.

Terrafugia, which has developed the Transition Flying Car , is the largest subcontractor to one of two winning teams.

The vehicle, known as the Transformer, or TX, would have what the project bosses describe as "unprecedented capability to avoid traditional and asymmetrical threats while avoiding road obstructions."
Intended missions would include medical evacuation, avoiding improvised explosive devices, remote resupply and taking special forces into action.

The vehicle will be able to travel 280 miles by land and air, using vertical take-off and landing to increase access to difficult terrain.
It will also have automatic flight controls so it can be flown by non-pilots.

Phase one of the five year, three-phase program will focus on conceptual design of both a prototype and a production vehicle.
Phases two and three will focus on the design and manufacture of the prototype, which could be ready as early as first quarter 2015.

The work calls for Terrafugia's expertise in drive and flight integration, deployable flight surfaces, and automotive crash safety for an aircraft.
Company chief Carl Dietrich said: "Our strong team of Terrafugia engineers with recent experience designing and building a dual purpose vehicle will bring a unique perspective to the TX program."

Terrafugia's Transition flying car is on schedule from detailed design for production in the second half of 2011.
The company is based in Woburn, Massachusetts and was founded by five pilots.
The word terrafugia is Latin for "escape from land."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/new ... g-car.html
 
'The Transformer'. Talk about toys for the boys.

No doubt it'll do about a gallon to the foot in high gear, too. :roll:
 
Flying cars finally lift off
It's easy to fly, it takes normal petrol and it actually exists. Tom Lamont on the car many of us have only dreamed of
Tom Lamont The Observer, Sunday 30 January 2011

Those of us waiting patiently for the era of flying cars have been stung before. Usually by some delusional old tinkerer appearing on Tomorrow's World or Blue Peter, tantalisingly showing off some hovering hatchback or Cortina-with-wings and promising it'll be an everyday form of transport – soon. It never happens. As the characters in Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes comic strip complained way back in 1989: "A new decade is coming up. Big deal! Where are the flying cars?"

Finally, in 2011, some action. Later this year an American company called Terrafugia will go into "low volume production" on its Transition Roadable Aircraft – a genuine, non-delusional, you-can-actually-buy-it-and-it-actually-flies flying car. It looks a bit like the Ghostbusters' vehicle with fold-out wings, and will cost something between £125,000 and £160,000. Terrafugia CEO Carl Dietrich hopes to sell 200 a year.

"A lot of people said they never thought it would fly," Dietrich has said. "But we have a vehicle right here, right now that drives and flies, and converts between the two in 20 seconds."

Terrafugia (Latin for "escape from land") was founded by Dietrich and a team of pilots and aeronautics engineers. Partly funded by the US Department of Defence, they've been quietly beavering away on the car in Woburn, Massachussetts since 2006, and are almost ready to start selling.

Owners of a new Transition will need 20 hours of flying time on record before being allowed to unfurl the car's mechanical wings and take off, but it's easy to pilot once they do – or so says Colonel Phil Meeter, the first man to fly the Transition in tests over upstate New York in 2009. On landing he enthused: "My daughter could do this! Anyone can do it!" The retail machine will have a flight range of just less than 500 miles (enough to get from London to, say, Zurich) and will travel at speeds of up to 115mph.

This being an American firm, targeting American customers, Terrafugia's flying car is not without its luxuries. It has touch-screen controls in the cockpit, and the "cargo area holds golf clubs". With the wings in tucked-up mode the Transition can be filled up in any normal petrol station, and parked in any normal garage. It also has built-in parachutes. But let's not dwell on that.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/20 ... n-aircraft
 
Yet another flying car, this time from Holland:

http://pal-v.com/

It even looks futuristic, which is a bonus. :)
 
Mythopoeika said:
Yet another flying car, this time from Holland:

http://pal-v.com/

It even looks futuristic, which is a bonus. :)
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Hmm, yeah, all well and good, but I wouldn't classify it as a 'flying car', not in the way that I would expect a flying car to be. Like most previously claimed 'flying cars' it falls short of the average Joes requirements, inasmuch as they are more accurately described as 'roadable airplanes' or in this case a 'roadable gyroplane/gyrocopter', still requiring piloting abilites, and runways.
But saying that, I do quite like it though :?
 
Surely a Jetsons/Futurama style flying car is a practical nonsense with any reasonable extension of current technology?

I mean a real practical flying vehicle that could be used like a car in the air, stop at traffic lights, land on Tesco's roof, carry four people and a week's shopping, that kind of thing. Anything that can do vertical take off, hovering, etc would be horrendously expensive in energy and its hard to imagine how it could ever be safe enough, computers notwithstanding.

A plane you can fold up and drive on the road is not the same at all. And its been tried many times in the past.
 
AeroMobil flying car: ready for take-off
We talk to the man behind the AeroMobil 2.5 flying car, which is due to go into production next year
By Jeremy Taylor
6:30AM GMT 03 Dec 2013

When Stefan Klein gets stuck in a traffic jam on the drive to work it doesn’t stop him smiling. The automotive designer believes his AeroMobil flying car prototype will soon be ready for take-off, allowing him to unfold the carbon-fibre wings, fire up a propeller and soar skyward.

Klein, 53, has been perfecting his creation for more than 20 years. Now the Slovakian says it could be just a matter of months before the AeroMobil sparks another transport revolution and becomes a common sight on – as well as above – the streets of Europe.

His radically styled hybrid was a surprise hit at the AeroTech Congress in Canada in September, an event at which engineers and designers from around the world show off the latest in aeronautical technology. Klein’s futuristic flying car stole the headlines.

“I didn’t expect the reaction to be so good,” said Klein, from Bratislava. “There were a lot of incredible aircraft to look at but our car became the centre of attention. We even had specialists from Nasa asking what it was like to fly.”

AeroMobil 2.5 has a steel framework and a carbon-fibre body. A Rotax 912 engine runs on standard unleaded petrol and powers the car to just over 100mph on the road, or 124mph in the air. The wings tuck neatly into the body when the AeroMobil is on the street but fold out automatically for flight, increasing the width from 5ft to 27ft.

Klein and his business partner Juraj Vaculik have invested tens of thousands of pounds in the project, which four years ago looked as if it would never get off the ground. “I was a university lecturer and had to work on the car in the garage of my house,” said Klein.

“I reached a point in 2009 when I really needed to find some investment money to take it any further. I had known Juraj for many years and he liked the idea instantly. I had to warn him that the risks were great but he was prepared to open his chequebook and stand beside me.”

Now that faith may have paid off, with investors from India, China and Russia knocking on their door. AeroMobil has invites for flying shows around the world in 2014, even though the farthest the project car has flown so far is just three miles.

“AeroMobil 2.5 is the final prototype before we build the finished car next year,” said Vaculik, 45. “We have been overwhelmed with inquiries since the Canadian event and now hope to get the production version ready for April.”

The propeller-powered car weighs 450kg and takes off at 90mph. It has a flying range of 430 miles but once on the ground fits neatly into a normal-sized parking space.

The company has just moved to a purpose-built hangar on a private airfield and will employ at least 15 extra staff within the next 12 months. It also plans to build different versions of the car and eventually offer a range of models.

'Nobody believed me when I first started designing a flying car. Now they don’t think I am mad any more because we have had so much interest. The world is changing and many countries, such as America, are looking at new aviation legislation which make the whole idea more feasible,” said Klein.

Vaculik has yet to hitch a ride in the two-seater but is now taking flying lessons. He says his only major concern with the car was when Klein decided he would adopt the role of test pilot. “Stefan has more than 1,000 hours flying normal aircraft but I was still worried to let our chief designer be the guy who also made the maiden flight,” said Vaculik.

The pair remain coy about the price of the AeroMobil but say the past failures with flying cars will not deter them to invest more.

Vaculik clearly believes he and Klein are justified in their optimism: “People thought the first mobile phones were a joke because they were so big and heavy. Sometimes designs have to be modified and refined before they catch the public imagination.”

SPECIFICATION

AeroMobil 2.5

Engine: Rotax 912

Construction: steel framework and carbon coating, folding wings

Dry weight: 450kg (992lb)

Capacity: Two people


Aerplane

Top speed: 124mph-plus

Min speed: 40mph

Take-off speed: 90mph

Range: 430 miles

Fuel consumption: 18.9mpg

Width: 8,200mm

Length: 6,000mm


Automobile

Top speed: 100mph-plus

Range: 310 miles

Fuel consumption: 37.8mpg

Width: 1,600mm

Length: 6,000mm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/mot ... e-off.html
 
I'm a little concerned that the fuel efficiency (mpg) and range for each mode don't seem to match up. It gets more mpg as a car, but travels further by air. Something's not right, there.
 
Anome_ said:
I'm a little concerned that the fuel efficiency (mpg) and range for each mode don't seem to match up. It gets more mpg as a car, but travels further by air. Something's not right, there.
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I see what you mean, but we probably need more detail on exactly how the figures are calculated.

Reminds me of the old joke:
A man in his car is stopped for speeding by the police. He says, "Well, I'm low on petrol, and I was trying to get home before I ran out!"
 
Ok, not quite flying cars but at least its an advance.

Hover cars to be built in Tel Aviv

An elevated network of hover cars is to be built in Tel Aviv.

A 500m loop will be built on the campus of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) followed by a commercial network, according to skyTran, the company that will build it.

Two-person vehicles will be suspended from elevated magnetic tracks, as an alternative transport method to congested roads, the firm promised.

The system should be up and running by the end of 2015.

The firm hopes the test track will prove that the technology works and lead to a commercial version of the network.

The plan is to allow passengers to order a vehicle on their smartphone to meet them at a specific station and then head directly to their destination.

The vehicles will achieve speeds of up to 70km/h (43mph) although the commercial rollout is expected to offer much faster vehicles.

A number of skyTran projects are planned globally, including in India and the US, but will depend upon the success of the Israeli pilot. ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27995437
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Jetpacks: here’s why you don’t have one


One of the most common complaints against science is that we don’t have jetpacks yet, as was ‘promised’. This is not due to the inadequacy of scientists but the restrictions of physics and anatomy, not to mention the fact that jetpacks are a terrible idea
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In a nutshell: a. it'd be bad for the environment and b. you'd burn your arse off.
 
escargot1 said:
Jetpacks: here’s why you don’t have one


One of the most common complaints against science is that we don’t have jetpacks yet, as was ‘promised’. This is not due to the inadequacy of scientists but the restrictions of physics and anatomy, not to mention the fact that jetpacks are a terrible idea
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In a nutshell: a. it'd be bad for the environment and b. you'd burn your arse off.
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I,m still working on the anti-grav belt.
 
Just admit you're fat and buy some braces.
 
escargot1 said:
Jetpacks: here’s why you don’t have one


One of the most common complaints against science is that we don’t have jetpacks yet, as was ‘promised’. This is not due to the inadequacy of scientists but the restrictions of physics and anatomy, not to mention the fact that jetpacks are a terrible idea
Click to expand...

In a nutshell: a. it'd be bad for the environment and b. you'd burn your arse off.
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Bugger :(
 
escargot1 said:
Just admit you're fat and buy some braces.
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Not that fat!

My appetite isn,t what it used to be.

Was at an eat all you want buffet tonight, just a starter, 2 main courses and a desert and one .5l beer.

Times were I would have eaten twice that.

Really nice hungarian ham and potato salad. Plus great lamb and beef stews.
 
Promises, promises.

Video: Flying cars pave the way for highways in the sky

Within two years, an 18-rotor battery-powered helicopter will be on sale to rich commuters who dream of open skies instead of gridlocked highways

AFTER slipping into the pilot's seat, I am handed a sick bag – "just in case" – and given about 5 minutes of flight instructions. Then, despite never having flown a plane, I take off vertically in my futuristic aircraft and explore the UK city of Liverpool from the air, touching down in the centre circle of the pitch at Anfield, Liverpool Football Club's stadium.

Sadly, I was only flying in the virtual world at the controls of a motion flight simulator, which sways and pitches to mimic real flight – hence the sick bag. But this was a simulator with a difference: it was running an early version of an easy-to-use control system that its developers say could form the basis of a much-maligned concept: the flying car.

Personal air vehicles have a long and chequered history. Cars that transform into aircraft are the usual approach: another prototype of this kind will be launched by Aeromobil of Bratislava, Slovakia, at a technology conference in Vienna next week. But "roadable aircraft" have failed to take off since the 1950s, not least because they still need to fly from an airport. They can't replace cars and so do nothing to ease road congestion, says Heinrich Bülthoff of the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany. What's needed is a vertical take-off system that can fly point to point, he says.

That might be closer than it seems. Before the end of the year, a firm called E-Volo in Karlsruhe, Germany, says it will make its first piloted flight with an easy-to-fly vertical take-off aircraft called the Volocopter. ...

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg2 ... E6EhfmsW8k
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A working hoverboard, verified by the Guinness Book of Records:


Next thing will be a Mr Fusion power pack...
 
Mythopoeika said:
A working hoverboard, verified by the Guinness Book of Records:


Next thing will be a Mr Fusion power pack...
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I would love one of those. Leave the house and head for ASDA without traffic or people in the way. Nice!
 
Here they are! Almost.

PICTURE A QUADCOPTER drone, with the ability to take off and land vertically, hover, and fly autonomously in any direction.

Now picture that drone with two seats, 18 rotors, and a joystick, ready to carry you and a friend anywhere you want to go. That’s the Volocopter, now in development in Germany by e-Volo.

The prototype flew for the first time, remotely piloted, in 2013, and now the team is working toward the first manned flight, sometime in the next few months.

The Volocopter has the potential to bring together many features we expect in a true flying car of the future: It’s simple to fly. It’s stable. Its 18 rotors provide a lot of redundancy against system failures. It doesn’t require a runway and it’s powered by batteries, making it emissions-free (especially if you charge them with renewable energy). OK, fine, strictly speaking it isn’t a flying car, because you can’t drive it on the ground, but who cares? It flies. ...

http://www.wired.com/2015/06/18-rotor-volocopter-like-flying-car-better/?mbid=social_twitter
 
I rode the Lexus hoverboard at a skatepark in Spain
It works, but it's not great — it's also just a prop for a commercial
I arrived at Lexus’ Catalonian skatepark, which was the exact one that we’d seen in the teasers. The park is made out of wood that has been painted to look like cement, with an embedded magnetic track that had clearly been covered with some sort of plaster in an effort to conceal it. Strike one: the Lexus board can’t be used anywhere you want. Marty McFly would be disappointed.
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http://www.theverge.com/2015/8/4/9091951/lexus-hoverboard-video
 
Look at Formula1. They haven't even got the wheel right yet. Once we've cracked that... then you can have your hovercars.

Personally... I was led to believe I'd be in a Blade Runner Spinner by now.
 
Maybe by 2115 when theres limited oil on offer we will be given the eye candy that for now is only offered by Hollywood.
 
Is Larry Page right, are we poised for a flying car revolution?

With Google billionaire Larry Page investing in flying cars and computer chip maker Intel onboard, this is a great time to covet the skies, says Paul Marks

It’s time to drop the cynicism. OK, flying cars may have long disappointed – they are rare, slow, expensive and hampered by the need to morph between car and plane.

But a welcome revolution is brewing in the world of personal flight that has a better chance of giving us the freedom flying cars have long promised.

If you’re laughing out loud at this suggestion, then consider that billionaire Google co-founder Larry Page backs two contenders, reportedly to the tune of $100 million, while global microchip maker Intel throws its weight behind others.

This has been a long time coming. A patent for a flying car was filed before the Wright brothers made the first powered flight in 1903. The first attempt at an airborne automobile was in 1917, with the Autoplane – like a Model T Ford with a propeller, removable wings and tail. Probably the best known flying car, the Aerocar, appeared in 1949. ...

https://www.newscientist.com/articl...-for-a-flying-car-revolution/?utm_source=NSNS
 
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