Airbus plans on making a flying, self-driving car by 2018

About two weeks ago, I posted another car company named Aeromobile said that they plan to unveil their flying car known as the Aeromobile 3.0 sometime this year. Now another car company known as Airbus is announcing its plans to have a flying car to hit the market as soon as 2018.

The aerospace giant first made a commitment to the tech last August, when it announced it hoped to make flying, autonomous taxis a thing. "Many of the technologies needed, such as batteries, motors and avionics are most of the way there," Rodin Lyasoff said, the Airbus executive in charge of the burgeoning project. Enders on Monday added that the company hoped the flying vehicles would reduce infrastructure costs for cities, and said Airbus is making them as environmentally friendly as possible.

This is interesting....especially with the news of other flying cars said to be ready in the next few years plus the plans by Amazon to have a flying warehouse for its fleet of drones to deliver to customers in their local area(s). I wonder what's going on behind the scenes with the development of the infrastructure for flying cars? What says ATS?

www.cnet.com...=YHF65cbda0?yptr=yahoo

Do I need to start on my pilots license NOW or.......?

I hate lagging behind the herd.

-Alee

Looks like just a prototype by next year, not production.

I would ask the FAA and ATC what their take is on the optimistic schedule.

That last flying car design was a death trap. They just don't have the aerodynamics to function safely. Just watch the video of it "Flying".

It MAY get an experimental certification, at best, but I wouldn't fly it.

Thank for sharing the article

a reply to: lostbook

The only way a flying car will be viable is when we have an anti-gravity propulsion system to power it , while we are still using standard propulsion they will remain playthings for the rich.

I like the idea of flying cars but am unsure I'd enjoy the reality.

What I want to see is one of these flying cars being pulled over by a state trooper, then the driver/pilot deploys the wings and then flies away leaving the trooper behind below.. Except they call that felony eluding.. Still funny.

Wouldn't it be cool if eventually you could hook your flying car up to an airliner full of other flying cars, and travel like that.

Just disengage when you're near your house, no need for airports.

I hate airports.

It would be the next logical step in the sense of a drone that can carry passengers.

I'd drive a flying car if it had a really good safety features like a parachute or emergency retro thrust/inflatable combo.

88 miles per hour! Looks like Back to the future wasn't too far off..We have flat tvs,flying cars and electronic books! Plus the cubs won and there is a miami marlins! Welcome to the future!

originally posted by: Kashai
It would be the next logical step in the sense of a drone that can carry passengers.

Israel has a passenger drone in development.

The Cormorant, billed as a flying car, is capable of transporting 500kg (around half a tonne) of weight and traveling at 185 km (115 miles) per hour. It completed its first automated solo flight over terrain in November. Its total price is estimated at $14 million.

My issues: without meticulous maintenance, aerial vehicles tend to start falling out of the sky pretty quickly. And the risk is beyond ridiculous, as death becomes very possible in even minor issues.

Protocols could be programmed in to help with crash landings, etc, im sure. But im gonna need to see a clean safety record for a year or 2 before i'd even start kicking the thought around. This is ignoring the ridiculous cost.

I'd be more interested in a vehicle that was still land based, but off the ground maybe 4 feet.

Self driving is something that is going to happen regardless. Which excites me greatly.

a reply to: lostbook

they plan to unveil their flying car known as the Aeromobile 3.0 sometime this year.

Oh Well so much for Trumps wall.

I wonder what's going on behind the scenes with the development of the infrastructure for flying cars? What says ATS?

Fluber is coming to the masses.

I can't imagine the average joe will be too keen to pay the
insurance , liability coverage along with required maintenance and checks for it it be viable for personal use at first except for the top of the financial heap.

a reply to: lostbook

Nice catch. F&

...but fyi - Airbus is an aerospace giant, not a car company.

a reply to: lostbook

The technology is there, that's a given, both propulsion, material and navigation/control wise.

But i imagine you will still require 3-4 different licences to operate such a craft, dependent on what ever nation you are in.

Then there are the health and safety issues to contend with never mind the insurance purposes also.

Bureaucratic nightmare i imagine.