Fly Car

When The Jetsons debuted on television in 1962, astronaut John Glen had just become the first American to orbit Earth. But during the optimism of the early space age, when rockets, satellites and nuclear power were on everyone’s mind, it must have seemed like we would all be flying to work in a hover car like George Jetson within a few years. Yet despite ever more lifelike flying cars on screen — from Luke’s landspeeder in Star Wars to those in the recent Total Recall remake — we’re still waiting for them to make the leap from science fiction to science fact. However, that wait may soon be over.

This year has seen a flying car frenzy. At least two working prototypes have been unveiled, with the Lilium Jet going on its maiden voyage in Munich and the Kitty Hawk Flyer publicly demonstrated in San Francisco Bay. Meanwhile, ride-hailing app Uber has announced plans to launch a network of airborne taxis in Dubai and Texas, and Slovakian company Aeromobil is now reserving its fleet of 500 flying super cars to buy.

Google co-founder Larry Page has not only invested in Kitty Hawk this year but has also been funding another flying car company called Zee.Aero since 2010. Beyond the startup scene, both aerospace and auto industry giants, including Toyota and Airbus, have also committed to developing honest-to-goodness flying cars.

So why now? The last few years have seen some major technological breakthroughs that could help flying cars finally lift off. Many of the designs we’re seeing now use electric propulsion rather than jet fuel. This is because battery technology has witnessed vast improvements in recent years driven by the demand for hybrid and electric cars.

While some concept vehicles still imagine humans in control behind the wheel, advances in so-called ‘machine learning’, which is essentially artificial intelligence, have led many companies to pursue self-driving flying cars. This means the user won’t be required to own a pilot’s licence, which is expensive and timeconsuming to get, making flying cars more accessible for everyone.

The popularity of consumer drones, while much smaller and lighter, have also helped to drive down the cost of some components. In fact, the industries overlap; Chinese drone maker EHang are developing a self-flying taxi that looks like an oversized quadrocopter.

However, having been cruelly let down by pie in the sky fantasies about flying cars in the past, it’s important that we stay grounded. Most of the manufacturers that have made announcements this year also say we won’t actually be whizzing through the skies until 2020 or 2025. While the tech that underpins these vehicles is pretty much there, it will take years to fully develop them, carry out the necessary test flights and safety checks, as well as make the whole process simple enough that these flying cars could be affordably mass-produced.

Despite spurring on many of the innovations that make flying cars possible, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reservations about flying cars. “Obviously, I like flying things,” he told Bloomberg, referring to his other side line, private rocket company Space X. “But it’s difficult to imagine the flying car becoming a scaleable solution.” He also has concerns about mid-air fender benders. “If somebody doesn’t maintain their flying car, it could drop a hubcap and guillotine you,” Musk said. “Your anxiety level will not decrease as a result of things that weigh a lot buzzing around your head.”

It’s easy to dismiss Musk’s skepticism due to the fact he is developing an entirely different form of transport that would see drivers travel in high-speed underground tunnels or ‘hyperloops’ rather than fly. However, many aerospace engineers and aviation experts have expressed similar concerns about the danger of the sky filling up with commuter traffic as airports, urban helipads and air traffic control would come under unprecedented pressure.

As part of their plans to create a fleet of flying taxis, Uber have committed to building so-called

‘vertiports’. On the one hand these are intended to ensure that landing pads are as accessible to users as their conventional, earthbound taxis. However, they will also go a long way to easing demand on existing infrastructure. Uber says it is scouting locations for sites already. However, it remains to be seen how this will work with local zoning regulations, not to mention residents.

Chinese firm EHang plan to build private air traffic control towers wherever their passenger drones operate. One of these ‘command centres’ is already up and running in Guangzhou, where EHang carry out their test flights. These centres will monitor the autonomous shuttles, receiving live feed readings, including speed, altitude, individual propeller power, and location. The staff will also be able to view camera feeds from the drone and communicate directly with the passengers inside.

These are only the first steps towards making our skies safe for airborne commuters; government agencies in every country will likely impose their own rules and restrictions. However, if rules for the sky can be established, flying cars have the power to transform not just the way we travel but how we live our lives. For example, if you can fly long distances in half the time you can drive them, why live in expensive, cramped cities at all?

Alternatively, if we all get used to living the high life, jetting from location to location, is there even any reason to return to street level? Read on to discover how flying cars have evolved, the tech that makes them tick and what the future may look like when they finally fulfil our Jetson dreams.

EVOLUTION OF FLYING CARS

1917

Resembling a Model T with detachable triplane wings, the Curtiss Autoplane only achieved a few short hops and was grounded indefinitely once the US entered the First World War.

1921

The Tampier Roadable was a biplane with four wheels, removable wings and and a land speed of 24 kilometres per hour. Its inventor Rene Tampier flew it to the Paris Air Salon then drove down the Champs-Élysées.

1946

The Airphibian was the first flying car to be certified as safe to fly by the US government and famed pilot Charles Lindbergh also endorsed it. But escalating development costs meant the inventor was forced to abandon it.

1965

The Wagner Aerocar’s bubble cockpit and tailfins make it look more like a helicopter with wheels than something out of The Jetsons. Its development was suspended in 1971.

1957

The US Army developed the Piasecki VZ-8, a hybrid jeephelicopter that could fly low enough to evade radar. It had two large horizontal propellers that allowed it to take off vertically and fly at 136 kilometres per hour.

1980s

Looking like something out of the kitsch 1970s version of Battlestar Galactica (in a good way), Boeing built three prototypes for its Sky Commuter, but the project was ultimately scrapped.