The concept of flying cars has been around for quite some time. Many of us have fond childhood memories of the Jetsons. But the concept has been around long before the Jetsons. Even during the Renaissance Da Vinci was dreaming of a personal flying machine. There are countless sci-fi books and movies involving flying machines. Some of my favorite movies involve flying machines. Of course who could forget the excitement of the pod racer scene in Star Wars Phantom Menace? Perhaps one of the best movies ever is The Fifth Element. We have Bruce Willis flying a taxi in a futuristic earth where flying cars are commonplace. And we can’t leave out Star Trek if were talking about flying cars. We get a good look at them in Star Trek Into the Darkness.
While all of this may be entertaining it’s not as far-fetched as it appears. Many companies have already produced prototypes and concept designs. While some flying car concepts are commercial, some are private. And some are autonomous while others are piloted. The fact that there are actual prototypes being flown and tested is very exciting.
The concept I find most interesting is the sky taxi. Even with many hurdles still ahead there are already a whole cast of competing startups and established companies in discussion with NASA and the FFA on how to bring this proposed new class of aircraft into service. These designs have capitalized on the electric power, propeller design, and software pioneered for consumer drones. The development of a broad array of flight control firmware and software is quickly evolving and adapting to meet this new market.
Because many of these designs are electric powered they could greatly increase our air quality and help reduce pollution. This would be further multiplied if the concept were to include large scale transportation such as city bus systems. I’m not sure if the general public is actually ready for completely autonomous transportation. I know I would have reservations on using a machine that I couldn’t drive if an emergency situation arose. With price tags starting at $300,000 I don’t think we will see many flying cars anytime soon. But we do seem to be poised to fly into the future.
Resources:
Flying Cars: What, How, When, and Why? (quillette.com)
How close are we to driving flying cars? – BBC Reel
Star Wars: Episode I – Pod Race – Bing video
Chase Scene – Star Trek into Darkness – Bing video
Sky taxis: How to make them a reality – Aerospace America (aiaa.org)