Who wants to take the Porsche for a joy flight?!
Don’t worry, you didn’t read that wrong. Thanks to recent breakthroughs from multiple car companies, pretty soon aircraft cars will fly out from a Bladerunner movie and into our new reality.
So why the sudden booming interest in flying cars?
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Tesla’s impressive battery innovation is one major factor paving the way for potential flying cars – along with better materials, GPS, and communication systems.
Sadly, we’re still far away from watching a 16-year old getting a flying car for their birthday. For now, companies like Uber, Porsche, Airbus, and Boeing (just to name a few) hope to make short trips with licensed pilots a thing most of us will get to experience.
For now, these tests will be controlled by the manufacturer – but assuming all goes well, we may see consumer versions within a decade.
When can I fly in one?
Hard to say. Some believe commercial use will be available by 2025, while other concept companies hope to have something in place as early as next year.
Unfortunately, these ideas are in their infant stages. There are still many obstacles like legislature, infrastructure, and overall safety to overcome before these aircraft cars are ready to hit your local dealerships.
I mean, how safe would you feel having SUVs fly over your head all day?!
Ok, so if I can’t own one, can I still ride in one?
Possibly – but currently, there’s one small (but important) thing missing: the batteries we need to hit the skies don’t exist… yet.
So far, the best test the industry overall has seen is an electric drone vehicle flying for about 20 minutes – which would mean if you got stuck in traffic, you should make sure you packed your good parachute!
So we’ll first need more powerful, and efficient battery power to make this all float.
Boeing and Porsche have teamed up to create a flying car. Image source: Boeing
Will flying cars be autonomous?
Eventually, we hope so. Human pilots tend to be less reliable and more expensive in the skies. Whereas autonomous flying is easier with fewer obstacles to avoid.
What’s the parking situation up there?
Let’s just say that you shouldn’t expect to be an air-valet anytime soon. Regulations, infrastructure, and air traffic management are currently not in place for these sci-fi wish lists, but startups want to use infrastructure that’s already in place to help administrations figure out how to bring it all to life.
One of the cooler parking ideas comes from Uber. They plan to have these aircraft park on top of buildings, where there will be chargers and battery-swapping stations.
But when can I buy my own flying car?!
For now, it looks like the primary focus is on ridesharing companies and taxis with proper pilots, training, and safety regulations. There would need to be a huge shift in safety and cost before it’s available for everyday folks to purchase.
Luckily, they’re saying that it’s not a matter of if flying cars will be possible, it’s a matter of when it will be safe and reliable enough for people.
So, we gotta ask: Would you test out an autonomous flying car? Or would you prefer to keep your feet on the ground? Would you do it for a million dollars?! Let us know in the comments below!
Yes I would test an autonome flying vehicle. For a million Dollar of corse I would.