Flying cars!

[electricron]

Look at all those wings! If it looks like, walks like, talks like a helicopter it is a helicopter.

In the USA, the costs to get a drivers license varies between $20 to $1,000, depending upon the state. The costs to get a private pilots license is on average $9,900. Up to 500 times more expensive.

The costs to get a commercial pilots license on average is $30,000. Depending upon your pilot school, the costs could be twice that. You will need a commercial pilots license if you plan to charge passengers a fare to fly with you.

The additional costs to get a commercial drivers license for driving a bus is at a minimum $1,000. You could eliminate much of this additional cost if your employer provides the training. But few employers hire new drivers in this category without having the license already, and those that do train you pay you less salary initially.

Will the size of your pocketbook allow you to be driving a car or piloting a helicopter?

There are already many helicopter landing pads throughout most American cities. Are more really needed?

[M II A II R II K]

Flying Taxis Will Hit LA Skies by 2024, According to a California Startup’s Plan

https://singularityhub.com/2021/02/2...startups-plan/

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- Air taxis still seem like a far-off concept, especially in a time when a lot of people have stopped flying or using shared transportation altogether. But the technology has continued to advance nonetheless, as has the regulatory environment that will be a big part of determining when flying taxis can safely and legally take to the skies. An announcement this week from electric aircraft startup Archer Aviation just brought a future where you can hail a flight across town one step closer. — Archer announced yesterday that it plans to launch a network of air taxis in the city by 2024. The aircraft manufacturer joined forces with the LA mayor’s office, its Department of Transportation, and a public-private partnership called Urban Movement Labs to form the Urban Air Mobility Partnership, which will work on integrating air taxis into LA’s existing transportation networks and regulatory framework. The partnership is also working on designing “vertiports” where the taxis would take off and land, though helipads or parking garages could be used for this purpose initially.

- Archer’s version of a flying taxi is called the Maker. It looks a bit like a helicopter, except instead of one large propeller above the cabin, it has three propellers sprouting from each of its two wings. The all-electric, zero-emissions aircraft can go up to 60 miles on a single charge, and can travel at speeds up to 1 50 miles per hour. The windows give passengers a 270-degree view, and if the outside world zooming past below you isn’t entertaining enough, there’s also a touch screen for flight information and other entertainment options. — If you’re thinking “this all sounds alright, but city traffic is already loud enough. the last thing we need is to add the sound of little planes roaring around overhead day and night,” fear not the Maker is surprisingly quiet, with a decibel level of just 45. This falls somewhere between the “lowest limit of urban ambient sound” and a “quiet suburb.” — Though all the stats are in place, Archer hasn’t actually started manufacturing Makers yet. Earlier this year it announced a partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).

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[electricron]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

Flying Taxis Will Hit LA Skies by 2024, According to a California Startup’s Plan

That is not an automobile, it is a plane. Do you know how much it will cost to get a commercial pilots license to fly one of these helicopters?
A class c motor vehicle license in California staying on the ground costs:
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/driver...icensing-fees/
Class C
– Original
– Renewal
– Adding a motorcycle license (Class M1/M2)
Fee $38
– Duplicate (replace lost or stolen)
– Info update
– Adding a firefighter endorsement
Fee $30
Driving (behind-the-wheel) retest
Fee $8
Class M1/M2
– Original
– Renewal
Fee $38
– Duplicate (replace lost or stolen)
– Info update
Fee $30
Driving (behind-the-wheel) retest
Fee $8
Original = $38+$8 = $46
At the time of the link I provided was made.

FAA commercial pilots license
https://costaide.com/pilot-license-cost/
The cost of pilots license will depend on which type of certification you would like to take. In getting certified you need to pass two test and those are the flying test and the written test.
A written test will approximately cost you from $200 to $400. For the flying test, below are the approximate rate depending on the type of license you are taking:
Commercial Pilot License – from $12000 to $17000
The written exams would contain 60 multiple-choice questions. You can take the exam at a FAA Testing Center and you need to get a 70% passing mark. After the written exam, you would need to take a flight ride together with an FAA-certified examiner wherein the examiner will ask you a series of question to check on your ability to fly.

And that does not include any training costs to lean how to fly.
Good luck!

[M II A II R II K]

‘Flying taxi’ startup Volocopter picks up another $241M, says service is now two years out

https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/02/fl...two-years-out/

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- Volocopter, a startup out of southern Germany (Bruchsal, specifically) that has been building and testing electric VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft, has picked up €200 million (about $241 million) in a Series D round of funding. Alongside its aircraft, Volocopter has also been building a business case in which its vessels will be used in a taxi-style fleet in urban areas. CEO Florian Reuter tells us that live services are now two years out for the two vehicle models it has been developing.

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[M II A II R II K]

Flying Electric 'Seaglider' Ferry May Be the Best Way To Travel Between Coastal Cities

https://interestingengineering.com/e...coastal-cities

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- Flying shuttles and taxis are likely to buzz overhead in the coming years, offering sustainable and smooth travel options. You can now add Regent's "Seaglider" to that ever-increasing list of futuristic travel options. The Boston-based startup is creating an all-electric flying ferry to link up coastal communities, which it's aptly calling the Seaglider. One of the Seaglider's top-selling points is that it can dock and leave from existing dock infrastructure, allowing its 10 passengers to bypass frustrating airport checks, or long train and bus journey times. On top of that, it can travel at speeds of up to 180 mph (290 km/h) over 180-mile distances (290 km). And the cherry on top of the cake is that it runs on zero emissions.

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[M II A II R II K]

Flying cars are "imminent" new study finds

https://www.inverse.com/innovation/w...cars-batteries

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- It’s the morning of the big pitch and like any self-respecting main character, you’ve rolled out of bed well after your alarm in a panic to rush to your car or closest subway station only to arrive at your office late and covered in sweat. This is a tale as old as time, but transportation may be finally ready to solve it in the form of a sleek, Jetsons-like flying car (or rather, electric vertical take-off and lift eVTOL) that can whisk you away above rush hour traffic and place you down at the office without breaking a sweat. This notion is called UAM, or urban air mobility. — But while this future may be fast approaching, one key lagging part of this technology could stand in its way: slow to charge lithium-ion batteries. This is a problem that Chao-Yang Wang, director of the Electrochemical Engine Center at Penn State, tells Inverse he and colleagues may have just solved in a new paper published Monday in the journal Joule. The solution? Turning up the heat for these batteries to nearly 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

- While flying cars may be the most easily accessible comparison for eVTOL craft, it may be more accurate instead to compare them to zippy, electrically powered helicopters or human-sized drones. As their name suggests, these crafts are designed to take off and land vertically, which makes them good candidates for urban air mobility. — The dream for UAM is that you can catch a flight from the suburbs, through the city, or to the airport by hopping on an eVTOL at centrally located vertiports (a mix between a helipad and an airport, but for city-cruising eVTOL.) In theory, these crafts would clear up traffic congestion by zipping passengers to and from their destinations by air and in a fraction of the time it would take on the ground. This reality, however, hasn’t quite come to fruition. Partially because it would require huge infrastructure and policy changes to implement, but also because eVTOL isn’t quite ready yet to pick up and drop off passengers on a dime.

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[electricron]

Electric powered vertical take off and landing aircraft are still aircraft, not cars or ultra useful ground transportation vehicles, whether they use wheels, skis, or treads.
Aircraft require a pilots license entirely around the world. If you carry passengers for profit, that requires a commercial pilots license. Good luck!

[M II A II R II K]

‘Checkmate’ on Highway Congestion? Planning Agency, NASA Team Up To Introduce Airborne Drones, Taxis To Relieve DFW Traffic Jams

https://dallasinnovates.com/checkmat...-traffic-jams/

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- The North Central Texas Council of Governments and NASA are working on long-term transportation plans, from delivery drones to passenger-carrying air taxis. The Advanced Urban Air Mobility NASA partnership is one of many irons NCTCOG has in the fire to improve traffic flow in one of the fastest-growing regions in the nation. — The North Central Texas Council of Governments and NASA are delving into questions such as those in several upcoming workshops to determine the best way to integrate three-dimensional travel into the conventional highway and rail systems that comprise the existing transportation framework. — Other efforts include working to advance autonomous vehicular travel, coordinating the use of technology and data to ease traffic flow, and helping to research the feasibility of a high-speed rail connection between Dallas and Fort Worth.

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[M II A II R II K]

Flying Cars – From Fast To The Future!

https://www.finelax.com/flying-cars-...to-the-future/

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- Most of the companies that have been experimenting with flying cars are already saying that they will start mass production in another two or three years. Accordingly, only the minority who can obtain a pilot’s license will invest money in this first. For example, ordinary cars, personal computers, and cell phones were first purchased only by the community that could invest in them. Later, due to the rapid decline in their prices, the technology came to many people. If this assumption is correct for flying cars as well, the world’s transportation network itself will take a much different path. --- Roads will be less congested and the airways will get more traffic. Therefore, it is imperative that new laws be enacted regarding the use of airways. Also, the methodology for obtaining pilot licenses has to be changed. They will need to be categorized according to their flight height. Even urban planning needs to be adapted to this new mode of transportation. The construction of buildings will be subjected to certain regulations to prevent possible accidents while flying.

- The upper floors of the apartments can be expected to have space for landing and parking of flying cars. Even public parking lots will be built above the ground, since it’s not practical to constantly land between buildings. Because of this, buildings will be often expected to be connected by flyovers. --- Although cities are designed to accommodate flying vehicles, there are a number of challenges that must be overcome. One is that these vehicles have two opposite needs. That is, the aircraft must be light and narrow to maintain aerodynamics and the lift. On the other hand, a car must be wide and heavy enough to generate a downforce in order to be centered on the road. When wider and heavier, the flight range decreases as more fuel is required to fly. Developing a vehicle that meets all of these requirements in a balanced way can be costly and time consuming. --- Considering the number of accidents per day caused by normal land vehicles, a large number of aircraft with one or more rotating rotors are more likely to cause serious accidents than flying in the sky. Therefore, VTOLs should be used only after they are fully secured.

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[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

Apparently people are still smoking?

[Stan31]

You'd think that after 75 years of trying to get people to buy flying cars, the investors would give up, but I'm impressed that people are still trying.

[Stan31]

Originally Posted by canucklehead2

I am sure some people said the same thing about cell phones and television too so you're probably in good company.

I personally think they will be here in short order in but the timeline will depend largely on the batteries and automation of flight much like electric car adoption. Apparently the Lilium Jet project will only require a 25-hour flight course because it will qualify as a Light Sport Aircraft... And because the cost of electricity even at an airplane sized battery scale is of so little consequence I can see small light air taxis taking a big chunk of at least the regional flight market since even by conservative estimates 90% of airports in the USA and Canada have little to no traffic through them, which is a lot of unused capacity!

late reply, lol... but tv took off within twenty years of being introduced, cell phones... that's a tough one, because it varies what constitutes a cell phone, but mobile phones have seen relative popularity at least in cars since the 1940s, so right around the time they started marketing them. Working flying car prototypes have been around since what, 1948 or something? and they've generated zero consumer interest in over 70 years, so it's safe to conclude that there's just no demand for flying cars.

[M II A II R II K]

A Supercar Designer Is Building a 250-Mph Flying Hypercar

https://interestingengineering.com/a...lying-hypercar

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- Urban eVTOL is developing a sleek-looking flying car that it claims will reach top speeds of 250-mph (400 km/h) and have a range close to 300 miles (483 km). — The flying car, called the LEO Coupe, is being developed by vertical propulsion systems specialist Pete Bitar and supercar designer Carlos Salaff, who is known for the Mazda Furai concept amongst other designs. Both are working under a new company, Urban eVTOL, to build new personal passenger aircraft that will allow anyone with enough money to enjoy the benefits of vertical takeoff and landing technologies from home. — The 3-seater LEO will utilize 16 10-kW vertical thrusters for vertical liftoff, and more at the back of the aircraft for horizontal thrust. — Impressively, Urban eVTOL says the LEO will only occupy one car space in a garage, meaning owners could stow it away at home.

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[mhays]

So all along, "flying car" meant "small plane"? I always thought it had something to do with dual road/flying capability.

And please don't tell me this would be an excuse for above-grade garages and parking podii.

[M II A II R II K]

Forget Flying Cars. The World’s First Flying Motorcycle Is Coming.

https://robbreport.com/motors/aviati...mph-1234629791

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- Jetpack Aviation, which already makes vertical people propellers, just announced a successful test flight of its jet-driven flying motorcycle prototype. The projected performance is Easy Rider-worthy bad-ass, and best of all, the California company plans to produce two consumer versions for everyday users. — It can take off and land vertically from most surfaces in roughly the space taken up by a car, and it can be programmed to fly autonomously. — “We could have an ultralight version [which requires no pilot’s license] ready within two years and an experimental category version within six months after that,” Jetpack Aviation CEO David Mayman told Robb Report. — “The ultralight version would be limited to 60 mph (FAA rules) and a flight time of 15 minutes. The experimental version would require a basic pilot’s license to fly. The speed of this version would be approximately 250 mph with a flight time of about 35 minutes.”

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[canucklehead2]

Good to see the plethora of fantastical flying machines continues! Let a hundred flowers bloom or electric vehicles take off as it were! Open rotor designs seem the scariest to me especially if there is no cabin... Can't wait for those future Tosh.0 fail videos!

[M II A II R II K]

World’s First Wingless eVTOL Is a Smart Flying Car That Can Land on City Rooftops

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/w...ps-169391.html

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- Urban Aeronautics, the Israel-based developer of the world’s first compact, wingless electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle, is getting closer to turning its groundbreaking concept into reality. New investments are taking the Cityhawk one step further towards conquering the urban skies. — The Cityhawk flying car integrates an innovative Fancraft technology, based on dual enclosed, ducted rotors, which not only increase stability even during turbulence, but also decrease noise significantly, both inside the cabin and outside. The compact eVTOL also incorporates autonomous systems able to detect and avoid traffic, power lines and other urban structures, and it can safely operate at night and in all weather conditions. — Another benefit of its compact design is the ability to land on vertiports placed on building rooftops, which saves time and increases efficiency, especially in case of emergencies. Inside, it’s supposed to be as welcoming as a premium car, thanks to the comfortable seats, Wi-Fi and touchscreens.

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[M II A II R II K]

Israel Took One Step Closer to Making Compact Wingless 'Flying Cars' Real

https://interestingengineering.com/i...ying-cars-real

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- Almost every time we talk about Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) concepts, we are looking at a scaled-down version of an aircraft that can carry four-five people and some cargo. And an Israel- based company, Urban Aeronautics is determined to create the first flying car and they are doing a pretty good job at it.

- Last year, we covered Urban Aeronautics' models, City Hawk, and Falcon XP. The striking feature of their design still resembles the traditional shape of a car, something we have barely seen in other VTOL concepts. Apart from the promise of carrying more people per trip, the greatest advantage of these aircraft would be the non-requirement of specialized infrastructure to land these vehicles.

- As CEO, Nimrod Golan-Yanay, said earlier this year, where their competitors can land one aircraft, Urban Aeronautics can land four. This can not only help the company ferry more people in limited space but it also means higher revenues from that infrastructure. Very few VTOL operators will have the ability to actually land their aircraft on rooftops and city streets, something Urban Aeronautics is keen on doing, within regulations of course.

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[M II A II R II K]

Flying cars: Could we be in the air by 2024?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/59038546

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- They're not the only company developing flying cars, but HT Aero, an affiliate of Chinese electric car company XPeng, wants to roll out their version by 2024. The company have said they've come up with a design that will allow the car to drive like normal on roads, as well as fly at low altitudes. The flying car has a lightweight design and the parts that help it fly will be able to fold away when on land. However, HT Aero have said that they may tweak the design between now and its planned release. They'll also be including various safety features such as having parachutes on board.

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[mhays]

I'm excited about all of this. But wow the hurdles.

The necessary skill level, risk level, insurance, regulation, etc., will be orders of magnitude above the car equivalents. We won't let random morons drive these things.

Therefore they might be more like a way rich people can avoid traffic.

And they could be air taxis, but way more expensive.