About Flying Cars and Quadcopters

[DontSayBanana]

I was browsing some articles when I found some squeeing over a flying car proposal.  Vaguely interested, I clicked the link to see what amounted to basically the same rehashed proposal that countless entrepeneurs have tried to market without success (link for the curious: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/29/flying-car-liftoff-advanced-prototype-unveiled-aeromobil )

It did set me to thinking, though: why are we so fixated on the idea that a flying car is going to be an airplane form factor?  It's a tremendous waste of space- the heavier the car, the bigger the lifting surfaces have to be, which only adds more weight as the folding and locking mechanisms have to scale up, and it can only achieve "flight" with an adequate length of runway clear in front of it.

On the other hand, we have multiple consumer models of radio-controlled "flying cars" in the form of quadcopters with rotors integrated into the wheels.  So given that we have the technology to convert four wheels into a quadcopter with relatively stable flight characteristics while keeping the car's form factor largely the same, why is every entrepreneur working on the subject still trying to tack wings onto a car or make a driveable plane?

[lustindarkness]

Yesterday's tomorrow is no longer what it used to be.    I want my flying car I was promised. 

[mongers]

The confusion over the promise of flying cars, is just the result of a bad typo, the original question posed the the 50s was "Do you want flies with your car?".   

[Savonarola]

Henry Ford had wanted to make an "Everyman's airplane" the same way that the Model T was an Everyman's car.  He had a prototype and was going to call it the Ford 2A Flivver, but stopped production when the prototype crashed and the pilot (and Ford's friend) Harry Brooks died; right here in Melbourne Florida.

I think any flying car is going to have that problem; it's simply too dangerous for the mass market.

[Malthus]

Henry Ford had wanted to make an "Everyman's airplane" the same way that the Model T was an Everyman's car.  He had a prototype and was going to call it the Ford 2A Flivver, but stopped production when the prototype crashed and the pilot (and Ford's friend) Harry Brooks died; right here in Melbourne Florida.

I think any flying car is going to have that problem; it's simply too dangerous for the mass market.

True for any human flier - we can't all be trained pilots.

What of computer-controlled drones, though?

[Savonarola]

Henry Ford had wanted to make an "Everyman's airplane" the same way that the Model T was an Everyman's car.  He had a prototype and was going to call it the Ford 2A Flivver, but stopped production when the prototype crashed and the pilot (and Ford's friend) Harry Brooks died; right here in Melbourne Florida.

I think any flying car is going to have that problem; it's simply too dangerous for the mass market.

True for any human flier - we can't all be trained pilots.

What of computer-controlled drones, though?

That's a fair point; a drone could deal with the congestion mass produced flying cars would produce.

The other problem I see is that of fuel consumption and emissions.  If a cheap, low emission fuel were to become available then a flying car could become practical.

[Tonitrus]

Even with flying drone/cars, and making it all automated...who would want a flyway over their house/neighborhood?

[Savonarola]

Even with flying drone/cars, and making it all automated...who would want a flyway over their house/neighborhood?

We'll route them over poor-people neighborhoods, the way we do with flight patterns.   



Presumably civilian drones, if they are to become prevalent, will have to be low noise, low fuel consumption and (if they are to carry passengers) have to be incredibly safe.

[Agelastus]

Even with flying drone/cars, and making it all automated...who would want a flyway over their house/neighborhood?

Have them fly in layers above the already existing roads - it may not cut down the mileage the way flying direct would, but the corridors are already there and it would do a heck of a lot of good for the congestion issues.

Heh...you could have heavy Goods on the roads with the caravans, a "moderate speed" lane for cars above it and a "fast lane" above that; a vertical motorway, in fact.