Will Brown reports on a major development that apparently came about specifically with Stephen and me in mind.
You know, there's flying cars and then there's flying cars. This one has a lot going for it, for sure. In fact, its very similar to an idea we discussed on a recent FFR. But I'm holding out for the full Jetson...
BTW, I think "the full Jetson" should be a thing. If I were starting this blog today I think that would be a good name for it.
On a recent episode of Fast Forward Radio I asked J. Storrs Hall (JOSH) of the Foresight Institute when do I get my flying car?
Either because he lacks the sense of humour to realize that is the standard short form question for "Yeah, this future baloney sounds like it might be awesome - when does it freakin' happen?" or because he's way smarter than I and realizes that the future is all around us, he answered literally. Paraphrasing closely, his answer was something like 'right now - if you want to spend a million dollars.'
I realized after that the question I really wanted to ask was "When do I get to be a sexy, immortal, billionaire, with superpowers? and Can it be incremental because, really, any one of those four would pretty well rock."
But in terms of personal transportation, I want a much more efficient way to get around that does not require either Mr. Fusion or some other heretofore impossible technology and is still safe and can be operated on my city streets and highways, safely. Cheap and durable are good.
So while I would totally dig on a flying car in the price range of a typical car, I've been waiting anxiously for an electric car. This should be the year.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/06/business/AP-US-Auto-Shop-Buying-Electric-Cars.html?_r=1
Several big automakers plan to start introducing a range of electric vehicles in late 2010, giving the broader public its first chance to buy the vehicles that rely more on the electrical outlet than the gas pump.
Because I've been disappointed on this kind of thing before, I've learned to be doubtful. But it looks promising. Of course, if I was willing and able to spend $100K+ on car that can only cary two, the Tesla is available now.
But the Volt, Leaf and a few others should be way closer to "typical" car performance than the golf carts and Neighborhood Electric Vehicles available today. Neither of which, BTW, I could license and drive on my city streets.
Now I haven't been much of an earlier adopter, preferring to buy proven, cheap durability. And while the NYT article linked above is an ok intro to the subject, it leaves out two important considerations for the cost/benefit analysis.
1) life expectancy and replacement cost of the battery pack. unknown
2) Yes, you pay more at purchase than a comparable gas or diesel car. Do you make up for that over the life of ownership by buying less liquid fuel?
Because the answers here are unclear, I'm guessing when my 20+ year old antique dies (next time it breaks it's gone) a clean diesel may well be my choice.
I mean there's sexy, immortal billionaire with superpowers. And then there's cheap, dependable transportation. And a man's got to know his limitations.*
Check out FutureCars.com. They provide a fairly comprehensive overview of future automobile technologies with an emphasis on future fuels. Plus, they provide a good run-down on the various ways that the flying car scenario might be realized, including this summary of the challenges that need to be overcome:
A flying car should:
be able to utilize the current infrastructures for both cars and airplanes
feature a flight system that does not require the owner to have a pilot’s license
meet all FAA regulations
be fuel efficient and economically viable for the average car buyer
be powered by renewable fuels
That's a pretty good summary. I would venture to guess that we will solve our energy problems and have some fairly sophisticated AI in place before we see a true flying car. A machine that flies but that requires no more highly developed skills than those required to operate an automboile is going to have to be highly automated.
This is an old idea who's time may have finally come. Brian Wang has written a great post over at Next Big Future about flying cars. His idea is that small electric airplanes could be incredibly efficient - 438 MPG equivalent.
Of course one big problem with flying cars has always been that airplanes are much more difficult to pilot than cars. Brian argues that UAV's are proving that robotic flying could be very safe. It would be push button flying. It wouldn't be any more difficult than using a GPS. You tell the aircraft where you want to go and it does the rest. It plans the flight (including determining whether fuel stops will be necessary), files a flight plan, communicates with ground control, taxis to the runway, takes off, stays in contact with aircraft control, and lands - all on its own. The driver could always change the destination en route if desired, but the aircraft itself does all the flying.
When you get to your destination airport you detach the flying chassis and drive away. I would guess that the upper flying chassis would probably be powered by liquid fuel while the car could be powered by batteries (but see Brian Wang's post on electric aircraft). These flying chassis could be interchangeable. They would be kept and serviced at the airport. You'd rent them as needed.
So, what production car would be good for flying? Jesse James used this sports car:
But this thing flew only 300 feet or so (video link). It was more like an Evel Knievel stunt than flying. There are probably better, lighter cars that would be more practical. Something like this:
This is the Aptera Type 1. It will come in two models - all electric car and hybrid. The all electric will have a 120 mile range. The hybrid is said to get 300 mpg with an increased range. The top speed of both models is 90 mph. Here's the Popular Mechanics story on the car:
This is another way that the electric cars could become practical long-range vehicle. For short trips you drive. For long trips you fly. If there's sufficient gas in reserve, the flying chassis could even charge your battery as you go. It could even become a popular alternative to commercial flying.
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