When will the dream of flying car transportation become a reality?
Flying cars have been the dream of many people since the automobile became a part of human life. Wouldn’t flying cars be a good solution to solve the traffic problem in all metropolises of the world?
When will these cars we see in science fiction movies really come into our lives? When will we be able to fly in our own vehicles and go somewhere?
In fact, this dream is partly coming true, with many companies working on this technology today.
Japanese automaker Toyota has already invested 322 thousand euros in the Cartivator group working on flying cars, while Geely, the parent company of Volvo and Lotus, has acquired Terrafugia, a company working in this field.
What will flying cars look like?
The first flying vehicles, such as the Terrafugia Transition, look like a cross between a car and an airplane.
It is unclear what kind of design these vehicles with small wings will have in the future, but since they take off just like airplanes, it is not possible to give up the wings for now.
But more than their appearance, the biggest problem with these vehicles is that they need a runway to take off and land, just like airplanes.
In practice, the need for a runway actually greatly reduces the attractiveness of a flying car.
However, some companies are working on a vertical take-off and landing model that makes the same flight more practical.
The vertical take-off feature is used by the Harrier ‘Jump Jet‘ used by many air forces around the world. But in a civilian application, we can only find helicopters.
Vertical flying cars are more expensive to develop and require a high degree of training to pilot.
For flying cars to become widespread, they need to be affordable and simple to drive.
Difficult to spread to the public, yet
Major advances in drone technology in recent years have brought important solutions in eliminating the need for runways for flying cars. But a number of problems remain.
Ian Constance, CEO of the Advanced Propulsion Center, which is working on these technologies, said:
“At the moment, the idea of a flying car is a toy for very rich people and will be produced in very small numbers. “These vehicles, which are still in the testing phase, will have to take into account both road and air travel. On top of that, it would require a huge amount of energy to fly the vehicle, which would create a lot of problems.”
Could large drones be the flying cars of the future?
These problems don’t mean that flying cars will remain a dream. Many of the challenges in automotive and aerospace engineering are the same: Reducing weight and increasing efficiency. Companies that have entered the flying car market, such as Uber and Boeing, have managed to develop flying vehicles, but they look more like large-scale drones than a car that can fly.
Although the idea of flying cars is not very widespread at the moment, traditional automakers are already investing in this area to be at the forefront of this technology. Companies like Toyota and Geely, for example, are eager to invest in companies developing flying cars.