Flying cars to solve congestion

Not with that attitude it won't. Look what people said about flying in the first place, or computers, etc.



Computers can do it, and besides, we aren't talking about massive Mach 0.9 airliners here.



Who's saying it would be flying up that high?





Reliability issues are a large dictator of methods when carrying 500 people in one craft, you know.



You don't need a flying car to go so high up to be efficient, eliminating ground friction alone would help.

Computers aren't reliable enough to fly the aircraft entirely on their own. Even if they were it would require a HUGE network of stacked and redundant systems to handle the mass of air traffic. And even private pilots flying single-prop Piper Cubs have to meet the same FAA requirements as professionals flying those "Mach 0.9 airliners".



Even flying low would create hazards for air traffic control. Approach vectors for major airports would have to be kept clear, and everything would need to be confined to a very distinct airspace.



I'd like to see the battery that can handle that job. Hydrogen, maybe, but we can't even get the PTB to mass-market hydrogen-powered cars, and hydrogen-powered aircraft haven't even been designed, let alone tested and approved yet.



But that mentality carries over into private aviation as well. Again, FAA requirements are just as stringent for private pilots and their small aircraft as they are for commercial airliners, sometimes even more so. This leads to a conservative "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality.



I don't think you really understand aircraft design and manufacture, or the regulation of such and the people who fly them.

Right now the technology simply does not exist to make a car that can drive on the ground and also fly, and do both with equal levels of safety, reliability and efficiency--and make no mistake, cars will never be totally free of the ground; you wouldn't want flying vehicles traveling in congested urban areas at near-street-level.

We're talking totally new propulsion systems, cutting-edge materials, high-powered fly-by-wire computers, advanced servomotor systems, whole new integrated navigation systems, new safety systems, new fuels, totally new infrastructure to handle the traffic, and an entirely new set of laws and regulations to govern the whole thing.

The vast expenditure to do all of this, and the time it would require, far outweigh the cost in money and man-hours, and the sheer utility, of expanding mass-transit systems, improving traffic control for cars on the ground, and moving cars away from gasoline and diesel using technology that is tried and proven and sitting on the shelf right now just waiting for the funding to put it to use.

Shifting to flying cars is reinventing not only the wheel, but the whole of society. Such a change in the current political and economic climate, and the climate for the forseeable future, is highly unlikely.

reply to post by The Nighthawk

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I'm not saying it wouldn't be a difficult task to create such a flying car, or the infrastructure to do so. I'm just saying that with enough work, computer control can work. You'd need a lot of radio beacons or similar o do it, but that and GPS could do quite a lot of the work.

And yes, it would be difficult to coordinate everyone flying around, but I think I wasn't really thinking of it being very high up or fast.

And I think they were meaning hydrogen fuel cells, I was just pointing out that a plane doesn't necessarily need to throw out many kilograms of burnt fossil fuel a second.

To be fair, I don't really have that much experience in terms of the aviation industry (yet) but I know airliners have stringent safety factors, as would private aircraft but mechanical failures, generally aren't the number one reason planes come down (excepting older planes in third world countries, it is a problem), or that cars crash.

As for efficiency, I was only meaning in terms of fuel and the amount of energy it takes. I mean, once you get the height gain and get moving, you use a lot less than if you need to stop, speed up, turn, speed up, stop etc. I dare say a large conversion to flying cars would be large infrastructure pain, but it might be possible.

[edit on 14-5-2008 by apex]

I have always dreamed of the day when flying cars would finally happen. People wouild take to the skies and really get out there and enjoy the scenery from up high. Then, I could have the roads to myself while everyone else flies around. Makes finding a parking space hard tho, cause everyone else got there first.

reply to post by orby1976

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Ask older friends and relatives about the aerocar that was introduced into mainstaream USA in around 1963. Was a small 2 seater car (like the old Isetta) with detachable wings. My Aunt had gotten me one from the store when I was really young. About 8-10 yrs ago Popular Science magazine had pictures ans writ-up on how people could be flying with a jet powered, verticle lift car to get away from highway congestion.

Conncept is not new but some people want a new debut(that rymes)

Al

The fact that i've been driving since I was 12 in the fields with many dangers in a work environment itself made me the driver I am, the fact is.. computers fail in ways humans dont. Human instinct can take much better action then a computer, call me old fashioned but im not about ready to let a machine do my driving for me.

Nor me i would much rather be in control.
Nothing is fool proof. And these cars will have their flaws.
How many will die before it's rectified?

Why not just telecommute? Costs nothing, already have infrastructure. Would solve congestion...

I'll be the first one to admit that I hate slow people driving in front of me, so a flying car would be handy almost everyday.....but I also understand the complications or fascination of young kids and try to speed up and get into accidents.

Unfortunately Big Biz hasn't fully caught on to the concept yet. Too many "old guys" at the top still want to see warm bodies in neatly-pressed suits and dresses walking in the door and filling chairs and cubicles. A lot of bosses still have it in their heads that if they can't see you and look over your shoulder all day you're just not working.

A very good point. The problem with computer control is that with what's available right now, unless ALL the cars on the road are computer-controlled, it's not viable to have ANY cars computer-controlled. Unless there's a serious breakthrough in AI-based control systems a la Knight Rider any kind of human driver "replacement" would need to be system-wide, because right now human judgment, reflexes and experience > autonomous computer control, every time. If you doubt look up the "races" held every year to test various forms of computer self-control systems in real-world vehicles. The vehicles in these contests barely reach and maintain city street speeds and most don't even finish due to massive failures.

reply to post by The Nighthawk

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I work at probably one of the biggest cos in the world and am 100% remote via telecommute.