The Naked Scientists
  • Login
  • Register
  • Podcasts
      • The Naked Scientists
      • eLife
      • Naked Genetics
      • Naked Astronomy
      • In short
      • Naked Neuroscience
      • Ask! The Naked Scientists
      • Question of the Week
      • Archive
      • Video
      • SUBSCRIBE to our Podcasts
  • Articles
      • Science News
      • Features
      • Interviews
      • Answers to Science Questions
  • Get Naked
      • Donate
      • Do an Experiment
      • Science Forum
      • Ask a Question
  • About
      • Meet the team
      • Our Sponsors
      • Site Map
      • Contact us

User menu

  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • Help
  • Search
  • Tags
  • Member Map
  • Recent Topics
  • Login
  • Register
  1. Naked Science Forum
  2. Non Life Sciences
  3. Technology
  4. Will we ever have flying cars?
« previous next »
  • Print
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Will we ever have flying cars?

  • 10 Replies
  • 3664 Views
  • 0 Tags

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline syhprum (OP)

  • Naked Science Forum King!
  • ******
  • 5064
  • Activity:
    9%
  • Thanked: 64 times
    • View Profile
Will we ever have flying cars?
« on: 12/09/2016 07:16:14 »
The Idea has been around for at least a hundred years and every year or so we read about a new one being developed .
I can think of no possible use for one they would have a very substandard performance on the road and the opportunities to fly them would be very limited other than in relatively empty countries such as Australia.
« Last Edit: 12/09/2016 09:24:54 by chris »
Logged
syhprum
 



Offline alancalverd

  • Global Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • ********
  • 10901
  • Activity:
    100%
  • Thanked: 632 times
  • life is too short to drink instant coffee
    • View Profile
Re: Will we ever have flying cars
« Reply #1 on: 12/09/2016 07:53:56 »
The idea of a mass-transport flying car certainly doesn't make sense. Fixed-wing aircraft need a lot of space to take off, manouver, and land. In heavy traffic, you can't stop or even slow down, and every conflict takes place at a closing speed of about 200 mph.

Pure rotorcraft and tilt-rotor machines are not fuel-efficient and although they can take off, manouver and land in relatively tight spaces, the havoc they cause for anything underneath makes them unacceptable except in an emergency.

Autogyros are a reasonable compromise for rural use, but the combination of airplane, glider and helicopter aerodynamics and lowlevel meteorology makes flight an intellectual challenge, so every shopping trip and school run turns into sitting five A level physics exams in an hour: few people manage more than one in a lifetime, even without dogs and kids in the back seat!     

Part of the problem is poor problem definition. If you want to travel less than 50 miles, a car is ideal because for most trips there will be a convenient road and no requirement for "pre-flight" preparation - you can refuel en route and if anything goes wrong you can stop. Unless you are travelling from one flying school or farm strip to another, the car will be quicker.

From 100 to 500 miles, a small plane is much quicker and whilst slightly more expensive than a car, it's cheaper than first-class rail travel and a lot less stressful than driving. The problem is getting from your terminal airport to your actual destination. Major airports tend to put the flying club as far as possible from the passenger terminal where the car rental and taxis  are based* - often on the other side of the runway. I carry a folding bike in the Cessna, which makes this less of a chore, but the ideal would be a 2-seat light aircraft with detachable wings and a roadworthy undercarriage - just enough comfort to drive the last 10 miles or so into town at 30 mph, leaving the flying surfaces at the airport. I think somethng on the lines of a Harley-Davidson trike with a rigid microlight wing would do the job.

*Southampton being a notable exception - cafe, car rental, taxis and even a train station just 2 minutes' walk from the light aircraft park - superb!
Logged
helping to stem the tide of ignorance
 

Offline chris

  • Naked Science Forum King!
  • ******
  • 7936
  • Activity:
    5.5%
  • Thanked: 272 times
  • The Naked Scientist
    • View Profile
    • The Naked Scientists
Re: Will we ever have flying cars?
« Reply #2 on: 12/09/2016 09:25:14 »
At what point does a car become an aeroplane?
Logged
I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception - Groucho Marx - https://www.thenakedscientists.com/
 

Offline syhprum (OP)

  • Naked Science Forum King!
  • ******
  • 5064
  • Activity:
    9%
  • Thanked: 64 times
    • View Profile
Re: Will we ever have flying cars?
« Reply #3 on: 12/09/2016 11:33:42 »
Why the complication of making your light aircraft with removable wings fit to drive on the road ? why not put it on a trailer behind your pickup as people do their gliders ?
« Last Edit: 12/09/2016 11:36:37 by syhprum »
Logged
syhprum
 

Offline alancalverd

  • Global Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • ********
  • 10901
  • Activity:
    100%
  • Thanked: 632 times
  • life is too short to drink instant coffee
    • View Profile
Re: Will we ever have flying cars?
« Reply #4 on: 12/09/2016 15:48:23 »
Have you ever driven a glider trailer? They are specifically exempted from some traffic regulations as "indivisible load" and present as much of a challenge to drive in a crosswind as landing the glider itself! On unflyable days, some gliding clubs organise trailer driving and parking competitions, with serious prizes for the brave. 

More to the point, getting to the departure airfield is rarely a problem: most pilots have cars/bikes/motorbikes at home. The problem is getting from the arrival airfield (usually rural) to your final destination (mostly urban). And why take the wings on the road anyway? You only need them to fly, so why not leave them where the flying begins and ends? Wings and tailplanes are particularly vulnerable to damage, so best not dragged around the city streets more than necessary, but the undercarriage and cabin are necessarily as robust as most sports cars, so perfectly suited to road travel.
« Last Edit: 12/09/2016 15:51:52 by alancalverd »
Logged
helping to stem the tide of ignorance
 



Offline alancalverd

  • Global Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • ********
  • 10901
  • Activity:
    100%
  • Thanked: 632 times
  • life is too short to drink instant coffee
    • View Profile
Re: Will we ever have flying cars?
« Reply #5 on: 12/09/2016 15:57:53 »
Quote from: chris on 12/09/2016 09:25:14
At what point does a car become an aeroplane?

Legally, when it can leave the ground under its own power, cross a 50 ft barrier within 800m of takeoff (I think this is correct - any less initial rate of climb falls into the category of motorised glider) and sustain  flight to a controlled landing. So a racing car on a ski jump doesn't count.   
Logged
helping to stem the tide of ignorance
 

Offline Supervolant

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • 44
  • Activity:
    0%
  • 1 : 1,618...
    • View Profile
Re: Will we ever have flying cars?
« Reply #6 on: 10/10/2016 22:02:44 »
Please don't worry.

My father and myself already started building IT. It is going to be beautiful and I want the third generation vehicle going to be affordable for everyone. Sadly the exact project features are top secret even though I would love to talk about everything specific because it's pure epic.

My presence in this forum is purely connected to the project and I am thankful that the naked scientists exist.

My heart and soul are connected 24/7 to it and I would die for real, seeing it lift of the ground...

We will have "flying cars" But please... Don't call something that's flying, a car. These needs to stop before it is released ok? :D Cars are automobiles. In germany ,where I come from, auto is the translation of car. So in return the "flying car's" should be named: "flight mobile" or shortly...
"Wanna hop into my "flight" and cruise around above the clouds?"

By the way. The german country is very regulated in terms of aviation. Maybe too regulated... That's why I assume me and my father + the team will have to move to the united states (said it since I was 4 for some reason... Everything makes sense now) in order to make it a reality.

Soon...
Logged
 

Offline alancalverd

  • Global Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • ********
  • 10901
  • Activity:
    100%
  • Thanked: 632 times
  • life is too short to drink instant coffee
    • View Profile
Re: Will we ever have flying cars?
« Reply #7 on: 10/10/2016 22:17:03 »
Good luck, and let me know when the second prototype is ready to fly - I'll have it!

A mile of road will take you nowhere. A mile of runway will take you anywhere.
Logged
helping to stem the tide of ignorance
 

Offline Supervolant

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • 44
  • Activity:
    0%
  • 1 : 1,618...
    • View Profile
Re: Will we ever have flying cars?
« Reply #8 on: 10/10/2016 22:21:35 »
How about no runway? "cough" V.T.O.L. technology "cough" okay but that's enough! ;-)
Logged
 



Offline Wicked96

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • 15
  • Activity:
    0%
  • Thanked: 2 times
    • View Profile
Re: Will we ever have flying cars?
« Reply #9 on: 20/11/2016 12:51:46 »
What about helicopters? But they are really loud tho, so i dont think how practical it is to even have roads in the air.
Logged
 

Online Bored chemist

  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • *******
  • 21241
  • Activity:
    100%
  • Thanked: 485 times
    • View Profile
Re: Will we ever have flying cars?
« Reply #10 on: 20/11/2016 15:52:36 »
Quote from: chris on 12/09/2016 09:25:14
At what point does a car become an aeroplane?
Here
https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/4bhwu1/just_speed_up_a_bit_you_got_this/

Either that, or it becomes a coffin.
Logged
Please disregard all previous signatures.
 



  • Print
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »
Tags:
 

Similar topics (5)

Can we generate hydrogen on the go for hydrogen fueled cars?

Started by Koogern Govender Board Technology

Replies: 19
Views: 15036
Last post 15/08/2008 18:43:43
by lightarrow
QotW - 20.06.10 - Why don't we make dimpled cars like dimpled golf balls?

Started by EvaHBoard Question of the Week

Replies: 2
Views: 813
Last post 10/06/2020 22:22:24
by evan_au
Is water vapour acting as a greenhouse gas a risk of hydrogen fueled cars?

Started by Matthew Cross Board The Environment

Replies: 0
Views: 3071
Last post 18/05/2010 09:30:02
by Matthew Cross
Has "levitation" been used in the past to create flying machines?

Started by erickejahBoard Technology

Replies: 14
Views: 8081
Last post 22/01/2009 23:22:38
by erickejah
Analog alternatives for digital cameras replacing mirrors in cars

Started by McKayBoard Technology

Replies: 12
Views: 6277
Last post 04/04/2014 21:55:36
by CliffordK
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...
  • SMF 2.0.15 | SMF © 2017, Simple Machines
    Privacy Policy
    SMFAds for Free Forums
  • Naked Science Forum ©

Page created in 0.179 seconds with 61 queries.

  • Podcasts
  • Articles
  • Get Naked
  • About
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe to newsletter
  • We love feedback

Follow us

cambridge_logo_footer.png

©The Naked Scientists® 2000–2017 | The Naked Scientists® and Naked Science® are registered trademarks created by Dr Chris Smith. Information presented on this website is the opinion of the individual contributors and does not reflect the general views of the administrators, editors, moderators, sponsors, Cambridge University or the public at large.