Flying cars imminent?

I have to agree with her excellency...I am a pilot and I do know that flying cars exist...but you STILL have to have a pilots license...

rest assured the FAA aint gonna have grandma flying herself to church....

and you know those folks that you see on the roadside...imagine them in peoples homes...rock concerts...anywhere folks would "dare" fly there would certainly be equipment failures......

Skyways . . . Have them mirror highways, and make it illegal to fly anywhere else, and enforce it by requiring any new vehicles to follow pre-programmed routes, and not allow deviation away from sky-ways until safely on the ground.

Originally posted by cyberpilot
I have to agree with her excellency...I am a pilot and I do know that flying cars exist...but you STILL have to have a pilots license...

rest assured the FAA aint gonna have grandma flying herself to church....

and you know those folks that you see on the roadside...imagine them in peoples homes...rock concerts...anywhere folks would "dare" fly there would certainly be equipment failures......

Yes Jo, they did laugh at Jules Verne, but we are not laughing at the idea of flying cars. What I am saying is that they will not be around anytime soon. In the '60s they had the technology to put people in space. People then assumed that by the year 2000 we would have plenty of space colonies with all sorts of people living in space, not so. Right now we have the techonology to have "flying cars". Some people will say that we will all be travelling the globe in flying cars in just a few years. I don't think this will happen anytime soon. It is a question of money. It would cost way too much to set it all up and get it running.

but, if you think about it

the wright brothers made their first airplane in ~1900. By 1950, airplanes were already available to many people.

maybe no flying cars, since people can't fly them, but how about flying buses?

they already have flying buses too...its called a 747
the french actually make a Airbus....flying cars that just anyone can drive will happen...in the year twothousandandnever

(i'll bet the farm on that)

does a 747 take you from say, san francisco to san jose? would it be pratical to do so? can a 747 drive people to different stops in the city once they land?

stop being sarcastic and try thinking of the difference between a flying car and an airplane

theres a difference between sarcasm and realism...
flying cars are not gonna happen....

I dont mean torain on the parade...building a car that will fly is the smallest hurdle...its just not realistic to think John B Citizen is gonna be flying around...nor is it practical...you'd have to do a pre-flight inspection before you take off (ha puntastic) to the store for a pack of smokes... that just transformed a 10 minute flight to a 70 minute endeavor...besides if you ever piloted an aircraft you would realize you dont just jump in and go...sorry...but it aint gonna happen...

[Edited on 22-1-2004 by cyberpilot]

how can you just say that they're simply not going to happen?

with the technology nowadays, no, it won't matter. but who knows how far technology will progress in 50 years? There will be no need for a preflight inspection or stuff like that. Technology will make a car just like our current cars, except that it can fly.

What they need is a self driving car, so i wont be forced to drink and drive.

So would a redneck still have it up on cinder blocks in the yard?

But seriously, I believe that it is more likely to have cars on locking tracks like in Minority Report then like in Back to the Future.

Prevex..how can I say that...well as a pilot and having a working knowledge of FAA structure, rules and regs, and of our airspace...I'd say its a educated guess..

you can operate a flying car now. (as long as you spend the thousands to obtain a pilots license)

Otherwise...It aint gonna happen...cars are cars..
but once its airborne its an aircraft and subject to the rules thereof...

Originally posted by Jonna I believe that it is more likely to have cars on locking tracks like in Minority Report then like in Back to the Future.

Now THAT might happen...

good post Jonna

Originally posted by cyberpilot
Prevex..how can I say that...well as a pilot and having a working knowledge of FAA structure, rules and regs, and of our airspace...I'd say its a educated guess..

you can operate a flying car now. (as long as you spend the thousands to obtain a pilots license)

Otherwise...It aint gonna happen...cars are cars..
but once its airborne its an aircraft and subject to the rules thereof...

As a pilot, you should know that no license is required for aircrafts under a certain weight. There are many small aircrafts that don't require a pilots license. What's the weight limit? 1400 lbs.? How much does this thing weigh? I read it somewhere, but I forget.

I've also seen a documentary on this. They plan to have computerized mapped roadways in the sky, which the cars follow....like invisible tunnels.

[Edited on 1-23-2004 by Satyr]

Originally posted by cyberpilot

Originally posted by Jonna I believe that it is more likely to have cars on locking tracks like in Minority Report then like in Back to the Future.

Now THAT might happen...

good post Jonna

Thanks.

See the problem though is that then 'they' could, not only stop all accidents but, also stop all traffic violations causing a huge deficency in the money acquired through tickets. With such tracks they could control your speed and I do like to speed.

Although, it would only be fiesable in citys as to the amount of track involved in going from everywhere to everywhere.

[Edited on 23-1-2004 by Jonna]

LOL the weight limit applies to ULTRALIGHT aircraft

the limit is 254 pounds...I'm terribly sorry I cant say what you WANT to hear..but it just isnt going to happen

heres a copy of the reg;

members.aol.com...

What's this then? I'm almost positive that there are aircraft that are heavier than that, that are considered "ultralight". There are actually planes and mini-helicopters that don't require a pilots license. Those James Bond personal helicopter things supposedly don't require a license. They surely weigh much more than 254 lbs.

www.ionline.net...

www.ultralightnews.com...

It has nothing to do with what I want to hear. It's the definition of "ultralight" is that we're discussing, ATM. Is that Canada only, or something? There's microlights too, right? These appear to be 992 lbs. What's the top end weigh limit before it's considered a real aircraft? I'm sure there's more classifications, correct?

[Edited on 1-23-2004 by Satyr]

flying car soon?



HELL NO!

Satyr, your links tell me nothing..the classifications of
which you speak are canadian..but you asked about aircraft that did not require a pilots license...due to weight.
I trained with a guy from Italy I believe it was who got his PPL in a Diamond DA-20 Katana (they weigh in the neighborhood of 750 pounds) he returned to Italy to discover his license was no good because the aircraft was considered an ultralight...he had to redo the syllabus in a heavier aircraft...the rules differ slightly from country to country but if you really want to dig
look it up with the ICAO (international civil aviation org.)
but back to the thread, NO flying car is going to qualify as a ultralight unless they start engineering miracles..and if they did..bet your sweet bippie the FAA will legislate it...

When they first come out they will require a pilots license, but eventually they will be like a computerized taxi that you just tell where you want it to go and it will do the rest.

As far as safety goes they will be equipped with light aircraft parachutes, so you don't go splat when you crash.

The two biggest hurdles are the new air traffic control system & places to land them in the cities.

It's time to quit spending money on concrete highways & spend it on research on a capable ATC system.



[Edited on 1-2-2004 by outsider]

Flying cars anytime soon? I doubt it - I'd give them another 40-50 years before they are commonplace.
They'll probably have public transport vehicles up and running, or flying in this case, to begin with in an effort to relieve congestion and gridlock on the ground. And they'd definitely haveta be environment friendly. Traffic control, and 'air-rage', could cause a few headaches, as more and more vehicles take to the air above the cities.
Private and commercial flying vehicles will most certainly happen - it's just a matter of time.
I hope I'm still alive and kicking in time to own one - should be fun!