NationStates Jolt Archive

NASA eschews the term “flying car,” preferring “personal air vehicle” instead. Nevertheless, NASA is designing a flying car that would humiliate George Jetson. The agency is committed to a 15-year time line for three successive generations of flying cars. The first, scheduled for 2008, will resemble a compact Cessna with folding wings that converts to road use (it shouldn’t cost any more than a Mercedes-Benz). The second, with a rollout planned for 2015, will be a two-person pod with small wings and a rear-mounted propeller. The third will rise straight up like a mini-Harrier jet and should be on the market by 2020. Merely providing the vehicles is not enough, however; if everyday people are to use them, scientists must know how to track thousands of these car-planes. And knowing is half the battle.
Source. (http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4215922.html)
As long as one still needs a pilot's license to fly one. Or is it drive one?

The phrase of the day: "Recently, NASA scientists discovered that most people love to play video games but hate to die in fiery airplane crashes; they are capitalizing on this common sentiment by designing air vehicles that are controllable with simple, video-game-like joysticks. "

How environmentally friendly are these vehicles? What is the fuel source? How practical are they?

I saw a really cool design for a flying car involving hydrazine and a platinum catalyst. The byproducts would be nitrogen and water.

Pfff, just tether thousands of hummingbirds to your existing car. They're manouverable little buggers.

It's about damn time. :p

I saw a really cool design for a flying car involving hydrazine and a platinum catalyst. The byproducts would be nitrogen and water.

Completely inpracticle. Hydrazine and platinum are both far too rare to utilize in a mass-produced vehicle.

Pfff, just tether thousands of hummingbirds to your existing car. They're manouverable little buggers.

I'll take nitrogen and water as waste products instead of waste.

*contemplates...*

wait, I have never actually seen hummingbird crap before. Hmm....

see? cutting federal funding to NASA has spurred them on to something useful! privatization, privatization, privatization.

Completely impractical. Hydrazine and platinum are both far too rare to utilize in a mass-produced vehicle.
platinum is already in use as a catalytic converter...

platinum is already in use as a catalytic converter...

Not to the extent that would result from this...we're talking many millions of vehicles, presuming that these vehicles were to become as mass-produced as current land-based vehicles are.

'Course, considering how expensive platinum is...it'd probably never come to that...

Not to the extent that would result from this...we're talking many millions of vehicles, presuming that these vehicles were to become as mass-produced as current land-based vehicles are.

'Course, considering how expensive platinum is...it'd probably never come to that...

Really depends on the amount of platinum required. If it's just a catalyst I could see this working. After all, gold is an equally rare element, and yet it is continuously used in applications requiring highly-conductive wiring/circuitry.

Gold = ridiculously good conductor.

You want to know where your jetpack is? It's in my shed and that's where it'll stay until you can figure out a way for drunks to not become human torpedoes when they put it on. Srsly, do you even think these things through before you make these kinds of demands?

And why a car with wings that needs to have runway to take off every zig? Why not small personal helicopters? You can build them for around $1000. They don't look pretty and they only have one seat but they do fly.

And this is nothing new! There have been experimental flying cars for years and years and years. They never take off because only pilots can fly them and usuaully prefer ordinary aircraft. This too will fail just like every other flying car that has ever been made.

Screw flying cars. I want my large barrel with a corkscrew that digs through the earth. The future is underground!

Really depends on the amount of platinum required. If it's just a catalyst I could see this working. After all, gold is an equally rare element, and yet it is continuously used in applications requiring highly-conductive wiring/circuitry.

Gold = ridiculously good conductor.

I suppose...I just lean against using platinum in anything like this if we can find another alternative.

I'm also not certain I see the need for flying cars...sure they're "cool" but "cool" does not transfer into practical.

Holy shit, I can't wait. :cool:

The air control system in the US can barely keep track of commercial and private planes. And with current rules, there wouldn't be room in the sky for even birds.

I'm not so sure a flying car, cool as it may be, is all that great an idea...I mean, someone so much as takes a call in a car and slams into someone-bad enough in two dimensions, but to slam into someone and then have all that distance to fall as well? Not a fan.

It would be cool aside from that, though...

Dont hold your breath. The government (at least judging by the current administration - going looney is practically a one-way trip. things only get worse as regulations rarely ever become more lax) will not ever want the population to have that much freedom.

After 9/11 the airspace restrictions have become truly horrific. Having to file your flight plan and wait for clearance (and hope you stick to your window and have no need to deviate), every time you want to leave the driveway really wouldnt be worth it. Perhaps the rest of the country wouldnt be so bad, but despite the horrific traffic in Maryland (especially friday evenings in the summer - damn 'reach-the-beach' people... what is so compelling about heading to the beach that you have to add an extra 2 or 3 hours to my already long commute home?) it wouldnt be practical for people to fly. The general aviation industry here has practically died.

I think it was 2 years ago that some old couple flew out to Cambridge, MD for brunch but nipped the edge of a temporary flight restriction. What do you think the appropriate response is to a slow flying Cessna barely hitting the corner (as in within the margin of error of some GPS navigational aids) of a temporarily restricted area which then doenst deviate from the same course its been holding for half an hour? About an hour later a dozen guys in body armor and automatic weapons burst into the cafe and force everyone on the floor. ya know... just like those damn terrorists to threaten the nation by nipping the corner of restricted space to go have brunch.

Now imagine if even 10% of drivers have flying cars.

You want to know where your jetpack is? It's in my shed and that's where it'll stay until you can figure out a way for drunks to not become human torpedoes when they put it on. Srsly, do you even think these things through before you make these kinds of demands?

And why a car with wings that needs to have runway to take off every zig? Why not small personal helicopters? You can build them for around $1000. They don't look pretty and they only have one seat but they do fly.

And this is nothing new! There have been experimental flying cars for years and years and years. They never take off because only pilots can fly them and usuaully prefer ordinary aircraft. This too will fail just like every other flying car that has ever been made.

As a pilot, I have to respectfully disagree with your comment. Pilots have eagerly been awaiting a TSO'd flying car or a roadable aircraft. It would be fun to have plus no hangar fees. There actually might be a roadable aircraft in the near future. The problem is, the engine will still need an annual, 1000 hr inspection, overhauls at the appropriate # of hrs, ect. So it won't be a commuter vehicle, unless you're uber rich.

I think they're actually close this time, AOPA has published a few articles on them.

Seems wildly inefficient, unless the power saved by not needing to lay down additional roads is so outrageously high that you can afford to spend the extra power to provide lift and forward movement.

Completely inpracticle. Hydrazine and platinum are both far too rare to utilize in a mass-produced vehicle.

On the over hand, I did see on, Brainic Science Abuse, the other day that you can indeed build a personal hovercraft using only some wood, foam pipe cladding, plastic sheeting and a leaf blower!

I think the main problem here is the inefficiency and logistics of it (obviously, not everyone could have one)

Contrary to popular belief, flying most light aircraft isn't much more difficult than driving a car.

On the over hand, I did see on, Brainic Science Abuse, the other day that you can indeed build a personal hovercraft using only some wood, foam pipe cladding, plastic sheeting and a leaf blower!

Mythbusters did it with vacuum cleaner motors.

*Covets*

Although the Moller Skycar M400 (http://www.firebox.com/product/415?src_t=sbk&src_id=skycar) (and there's a pic on the article) is even more covetable.

And the thread title should obviously end "- But will it take off?"

I'm here all week :D