Who wants a flying car?

This is no joke. Check out what may be the future of personal travel. http://www.moller.com/skycar

 

hey lonewolf
i figured sometime would invent something like this skycar--how neat--i'd love to have one.just imagine the speed you could get somewhere and think of the fun getting there
Rita

 

Oh! How super......can't wait......instead of a car running into you on the Highway, these will fall on you from out of the sky......it's all coming true, who was it said "Look to the Skies".....


Cochise,

 

lonewolf2, that's Cool! Now I could double park on top of the bosses car instead of next to it.

 

Wow, all those Jetsons cartoons may be coming true after all!!

http://www.cybercomm.nl/~ivo/trivia.GIF

I predict the tire manufacturers will hate it....

 

Now this is the car I want.

 

Yeah that is pretty cool and for only $995,000.00 (according to their web site) you too can be the first on your block to fly. Pilots License not included.

 

Yes Beetlejuice, currently you can't even get one yet. As far as price is concerned even the president of Moller International (Paul Moller) has stated many times that his goal is to make the vehicle(s) available to all, and at as reasonable a price as possible. Eventually the price could be lowered to the range of a mid priced automobile. It just depends on demand, if they were put into mass production and purchased all over the USA/world price would be lowered considerably.

At the present time, a pilots license is required to operate them, but they are working on a GPS type guidance system that would allow nearly anyone to fly them, and without the costly pilots license.

The Skycar is actually a very safe air vehicle compared to what is currently available. Flight is still possible with multi-engine failure. The M-400 comes with a dual parachute system, incase of catastrophic engine failure, allowing you a completely safe landing. What other air vehicle has parachutes to allow a safe landing if you have engine trouble? So you not only save yourself, but the vehicle as well. Have you ever tried jumping out of a crashing helicopter (while using a parachute)? Good luck!

The engines can also run on REGULAR gasoline, no super expensive jet fuel! As well as alcohol, natural gas, diesel, and other fuel sources. Getting over 20 mpg using unleaded gasoline. More on other sources.

A 750 mile range at max load, compare that to any light helicopter. True some airplanes can exceed this, but you can't take off from your back yard with them, unless you have a really big back yard!

The Wankle-type rotary engines are very safe running compared to a four cylinder piston engine, using only seven percent as many moving parts. Which also has the benifit of longer life, less frequent repairs, less frequent chance of failure ect...and save consumers tons of money.

Basically, all the parts that make up the vehicles are designed to be low cost and easy to repair, making them light on the wallet and easy to maintain, especially if they go into mass production.

It could be a few years before we actually see them go into mass production though. I suppose it depends if they catch on or not. And a few more steps would be required before we could actually use them without a pilots license. But they could just end up being the future of personal transportation.

 

Yeah, flying cars, maybe in the near future we will see cars flying in the sky. But, are there going to be any traffic lights in the air? And what's gonna happen if two flying cars get involved in an accident?

 

Won't need traffic lights, no one is going to be crossing the street and there will be no vehicles coming from your right or left they will be way above you or below you, the cross traffic that is.

As far as crashes go, how many air planes and helicopters do you hear about crashing into each other? Statistically speaking flying is the safest form of transportation, and with all the many safety features Moller is putting into these vehicles, they should be about the safest things in the air.

Also, as i've previously stated, the Skycars will be using a GPS like guidance system that will be used to guide all vehicles and thereby take the possibility of human error out of the picture. Not to say you couldn't manually fly them, you will be able to do this also, but an automatic pilot like feature will be enabled for your safety. You just punch in your destination in the computer, sit back and enjoy the ride.

 

Can't wait for people to fly those around, it'll be great skeet practice for my shotgun

 

Yeah!...and another thing you haven't thought of...what if you set off somewhere and then run out of petrol.....you'd be stuck up there all day....I bet the inventor hasn't thought about a flying Tow-truck eh? eh?....



Cochise,

 

Well, let me ask you this Cochise, how often do you drive your car around and suddenly run out of gas? They'll probably have a reserve tank for emergencies. But if you had a cell phone (or some other kind of transmitter such as a radio, like most air craft do) perhaps someone could just fly out to your location and deliver you some gas (flying tow truck?). Believe me if these things were flying everywhere i'm sure they would think of a way to remedy something so simple as running out of gas.

 

Tch!.....it's a joke lonewolf.....well, almost, it must have lost something in the translation......

Try this......'A man and his wife are on an airliner about to land at London Airport, the Pilot comes onto the intercom and tells the passengers they are in a queue and may have to circle for quite some time before getting permission to land.....the lady turns to her husband and says " Yes, and if we run out of petrol with all this circling we could finish stuck up here all-day"....is that any better..... ......



Cochise,

 

LOL!! Cochise, that's funny, I know some people who could say that and not think any thing of it.
BUT!! That flying car, I always wanted to fly, so expensive and never the time, this is a kinda alternative, I can't believe the Jetson car is alive and well!! Hope it doesn't turn out to be just an elitist form of transportation, don't know why they can't make cars that efficient now. Yeah, I know - Big Bucks, still, alot of states are practically paved over with hi-ways, freeways, toll roads, parking lots,garages,etc. Something has to change or "Cap'n, she canna hold, she's gonna blow!"

Marja

 

Unfortunately Marja, they will probably be for the rich and famous at the outset and/or perhaps the military (which has shown an interest in them). Also search and rescue could greatly benefit from their use. So it will most likely take some time before they would be made available to the average Joe, and at a price we can all afford. But Mollers idea is to make them available for the public and at a reasonable price, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens.