If you had told me a few weeks ago that flying cars would change the way we travel, I probably would have laughed at you.
But after Elon Musk hinted that a flying Tesla might soon become a reality, the internet started buzzing with flying car news. And now people are talking.
“There's a sense that the time is right,” said Joey Smith, an aviation industry investment banker at Cassel, Salpeter & Company. “A number of well-funded companies are racing to build viable production vehicles that could take to the skies as early as next year.” “
Additionally, attitudes toward Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), a fancy term for flying cars and other personal flying vehicles, are changing. A new survey finds that Americans, especially younger consumers in urban areas, are becoming more open to the idea of flying to their next destination. Still, the definition of a flying car is a little difficult to pin down. I'll explain in a moment.
Don't open your apartment window and expect to see a scene from a sci-fi movie like this: minority report in a few days. (You know, the sky is lined with lanes of flying vehicles.) It will be a slow rollout, but it will change the way we travel in ways not seen since the introduction of the jet engine. There is a possibility.
What kind of flying vehicles are there in the world?
Personal flying vehicles defy simple categorization, but that may be part of their appeal. There are STOLs and VTOLs, quadcopters, octocopters, and hexacopters. Some are electric, and some are gas.
Don't get confused by all the acronyms. I think you could call it a flying car.
Currently, the loudest noise generators are electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs). These aircraft take off and land like helicopters. Joby's air taxi service in Manhattan, for example, plans to use eVTOLs, like oversized drones, to shuttle passengers from New York to JFK Airport next year.
My classification is a bit unconventional, but here's how I think about it: There are actually only two types of flying cars. The first is a movie-like car that can drive on the road and fly through the air. back to the future.
One of the most high-profile of these is the Model A, which is being developed by Alef Aeronautics. It's an eVTOL that looks like a sports car. However, once it takes off, the cabin circles and the vehicle flies sideways, which looks a little uncomfortable but is very cool. (related: The year ahead: Here's what travelers should expect in 2024. )
The second type of flying vehicle doesn't even care about roads. For example, both Lilium jets are fixed-wing aircraft. and eVTOL. But you won't see this car on the highway unless you make an emergency landing. So, strictly speaking, this is not a flying car.
As I said, it's not easy to categorize these flying vehicles. And until now it was not very important, because it could only be found in aviation magazines and science fiction movies. But now there's serious talk about flying cars, and developers are starting to take orders. The future is almost here.
The flying car has not yet received permission to take off.
I don't understand too much Excited. Experts say some things still need to be resolved. For example, eVTOL manufacturers have been grappling with several challenges. It's not just how to design a lightweight aircraft made of the right composite materials and with the right battery life that matters. He also operates a flying car. Issues such as autonomous flight capabilities and pilot training have proven to be major hurdles.
There are also regulatory hurdles. The Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees these new vehicles, is taking a “crawl, walk, run” approach. And still in “crawl” mode. Last year, it set out some rules for flying cars. Among them are the need to use existing helipads and the need for human pilots. However, there are still no special traffic lanes in the sky for these vehicles. (Click here for this summer's travel guide.)
Britain is also preparing for flying cars. The government announced in March that it envisions eVTOLs taking to the skies within four years.
Observers are skeptical of the proposed schedule. Charles Leoca, president of consumer group Travelers United, has been working on regulating low-altitude unmanned aircraft for the past decade. He said the wheels were turning slowly. (related: Is air travel getting better? Here's the surprising reason why. )
“It will be at least 10 years before the FAA approves any type of flying car,” he added.
All of this has made people reluctant to order flying cars – if they can afford it. Most vehicle prices range from $150,000 up to $10 million.
“Prospective buyers are likely to hold off until regulatory barriers are lifted,” said Francesco Ceroni, a mobility expert at design firm Buro Happold.
Where can you find a personal flying vehicle now?
If you want to see flying vehicles for yourself, you can find them at the following locations (outside movie theaters):
- Lift Aircraft, which manufactures a single-seat eVTOL called Hexa, is offering test flights of the single-seat Hexa this spring. Events are scheduled to take place at Florida's Lakeland Linder International Airport in April and in Austin in May.
- Early next year, air taxis will be available from Abu Dhabi and Dubai on the four-seater Midnight aircraft. Operated by UAE-based Falcon Aviation, the eVTOL covers a 131-mile journey in just 30 minutes. By road, it can take several hours due to traffic jams.
- There is also a flying driving school. Dutch automaker PAL-V explains more about flying cars. Munich also has a flying car showroom where you can buy your own gyroplane and car combination. (It costs about 550,000 yen.)
Bottom line: Flying cars remain rare. But change is on the horizon.
How flying cars will change the way we travel
Despite the high cost of living and continued questions about whether it's possible to run around town like George Jetson, people haven't stopped thinking about the future. Experts seem to agree that safe, FAA-approved VTOLs have the potential to change travel forever.
“By taking some of the traffic off the road, it will reduce congestion, create a new aviation sector, and create new jobs,” said Raj Rajkumar, a computer engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University. (related: Air travel has certainly changed — but we haven't seen anything yet!)
Flying cars have the potential to significantly reduce travel time between destinations typically served by short-haul commercial flights. So instead of taking a shuttle flight from Washington to New York, you can drive your own car and get there in a fraction of the time it would take to drive traditionally.
But that's just the beginning. These vehicles will become faster and more affordable, potentially competing with civil aviation. Imagine flying your family from the outskirts of an East Coast city to Florida for your next vacation. Go to the airport, go through security, wait for departure, fly, land, collect your luggage and rent a car bound for Earth?
The idea of eliminating airlines with terrible customer service and addictive loyalty programs may be the greatest promise of the AAV revolution.
If you had asked me a few weeks ago whether such a future was possible, I would have been very skeptical. Now, I'm a little skeptical.
This is the second in a two-part series on the future of air travel. Here's part 1.
