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Flying Cars
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Flying cars, also known as 'roadable aircraft' and Personal Air Vehicles (PAV), are vehicles capable of both being driven on standard roads and being flown through the air. In concept, they are regarded as Integrated Flying Cars if the transition from road to flight and back requires no change to the vehicle’s parts, and Modular Flying Cars if the parts required for flight are stored (at an airport, for example) and added on as necessary.
Typically, a flying car is a small airplane converted into a road-capable car. At the moment, there are no flying cars available commercially and none under production for commercial sales. The huge majority of flying cars exist as either prototypes or concepts in development. VTOL is short for Vertical Take-Off and Landing. This term refers to any fixed-wing aircraft that, in short, does not require a runway. In order for a fixed-wing aircraft to achieve this, it demands an incredible amount of power and stability. The technology can be seen in some military aircraft, including the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey.
VTOL prototypes under development include:
- The Moller M400 Skycar , by Moller International
- The X-Hawk , by Urban Aeronautics
Naturally, a car capable of flight will face a number of different challenges compared to a car that does not fly. A flying car should:
- be able to utilize the current infrastructures for both cars and airplanes
- feature a flight system that does not require the owner to have a pilot’s license
- meet all FAA regulations
- be fuel efficient and economically viable for the average car buyer
- be powered by renewable fuels
Although flying cars do need to surmount some incredible obstacles before they become commonplace, the possibilities they open up are exciting and often enough, seemingly beyond imagination.
» http://www.futurecars.com/futurecars
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