Monday, September 26, 2005
Dude, Where's My Flying Car?
I'm not the first to ask that question.
People have been saying for a few years now, "Hey, it's the twenty-first century! I was promised a flying car! They said we'd have flying cars in the twenty-first century! Where are they?"
Well, the twenty-first century is a long time. They're coming; they're on the horizon now.
And we need look no further than Moller, and their upcoming vehicle, the Skycar volantor. With a top speed of 350 miles per hour and a cruise of 205 mph at sea level, the M400 (the four-passenger model) should be that wonderful revolutionary first step we've all been waiting for. The most recent estimate on its range is 750 miles. And while 20 miles per gallon of gasoline may not seem that great compared to whatever you're driving now, keep in mind that this is a flying vehicle -- a lot of the energy is used just to get the thing off the ground. I don't even know what kind of mileage it gets when taxiing.
The one-passenger model, labeled the M150, will do a bit better at a top speed of 375 mph, cruise of 335 mph, range of 675 miles, and mileage of 45 mpg. (The mileage and range are somewhat less with gasoline/alcohol mix, but I won't comment further on that than to point it out because I know next to nothing on the topic.)
And according to the Moller website, the whole thing will be automated. Yes, that's right -- though it will naturally be possible to operate the thing by hand, much of the piloting work will be handled by an onboard computer.
This isn't new news, of course. If you watch 60 Minutes, or live in the UK and receive Aerospace Testing International magazine, you're probably already aware of this just from their recent reports.
Moller's own website covers many of the transportation issues its work tries to address, as well as the safety issues with hundreds of flying vehicles in the skies and the extensive measures the company's taken to address them. I don't even have the heart to speculate on what the Skycar (and other craft like it) might mean for the future; Paul Moller's already done a pretty good job.
As one might expect, there are other efforts at flying cars as well: Volante, CarterCopter, Haynes Skyblazer, and various others have all come into development and made some level of news. But Moller is the only one to do it without those pesky wings. These vehicles all have to pull in or remove their wings in some way before rolling down the road; the Skycar skips that step, and is equally sky-ready and road-ready at all times.
Personally, I don't know that I'll ever own one of these, but I do hope I can take a ride in one some day. Plus, I can hardly wait for these to appear in a James Bond movie.
People have been saying for a few years now, "Hey, it's the twenty-first century! I was promised a flying car! They said we'd have flying cars in the twenty-first century! Where are they?"
Well, the twenty-first century is a long time. They're coming; they're on the horizon now.
And we need look no further than Moller, and their upcoming vehicle, the Skycar volantor. With a top speed of 350 miles per hour and a cruise of 205 mph at sea level, the M400 (the four-passenger model) should be that wonderful revolutionary first step we've all been waiting for. The most recent estimate on its range is 750 miles. And while 20 miles per gallon of gasoline may not seem that great compared to whatever you're driving now, keep in mind that this is a flying vehicle -- a lot of the energy is used just to get the thing off the ground. I don't even know what kind of mileage it gets when taxiing.
The one-passenger model, labeled the M150, will do a bit better at a top speed of 375 mph, cruise of 335 mph, range of 675 miles, and mileage of 45 mpg. (The mileage and range are somewhat less with gasoline/alcohol mix, but I won't comment further on that than to point it out because I know next to nothing on the topic.)
And according to the Moller website, the whole thing will be automated. Yes, that's right -- though it will naturally be possible to operate the thing by hand, much of the piloting work will be handled by an onboard computer.
This isn't new news, of course. If you watch 60 Minutes, or live in the UK and receive Aerospace Testing International magazine, you're probably already aware of this just from their recent reports.
Moller's own website covers many of the transportation issues its work tries to address, as well as the safety issues with hundreds of flying vehicles in the skies and the extensive measures the company's taken to address them. I don't even have the heart to speculate on what the Skycar (and other craft like it) might mean for the future; Paul Moller's already done a pretty good job.
As one might expect, there are other efforts at flying cars as well: Volante, CarterCopter, Haynes Skyblazer, and various others have all come into development and made some level of news. But Moller is the only one to do it without those pesky wings. These vehicles all have to pull in or remove their wings in some way before rolling down the road; the Skycar skips that step, and is equally sky-ready and road-ready at all times.
Personally, I don't know that I'll ever own one of these, but I do hope I can take a ride in one some day. Plus, I can hardly wait for these to appear in a James Bond movie.
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We were promised so many things, more than flying cars, but I think we need to look at what the needs of the past made us believe that we would have such technologies. Know what I mean?
One of my favorite movies is Metropolis. Even though it's a pessimistic view of the future, there are some cool gadgets.
And yes, can't wait for the next Bond. Remember the remote controlled car in Die Another Day? Here's some of his "babes."
Nice blog, by the way.
Ro
One of my favorite movies is Metropolis. Even though it's a pessimistic view of the future, there are some cool gadgets.
And yes, can't wait for the next Bond. Remember the remote controlled car in Die Another Day? Here's some of his "babes."
Nice blog, by the way.
Ro
Came by from Blog Explosion - you are site of the day today. Happened to notice that we both posted on the future and mentioned the flying car. Thanks for filling in some fun possibilities.
It does seem quite interesting that posts about the Skycar would come up on three different blogs at about the same time!
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