Flying Saucer Anyone??

[grober]

Found this on Jalopnik. http://jalopnik.com/cars/jalopnik-l...first-flying-car-enters-production-282449.php
MOLLER INTERNATIONAL LAUNCHES PRODUCTION OF JETSONS-LIKE GROUND-EFFECT VEHICLE .
One way to beat the traffic jams/floods but might not clear trucks or double decker buses? It uses 8 Rotapower engines so I guess the mpg would be pretty poor.

 

[scumbag]

it does raise a few questions tho.

can you fly it on a driving licence? how do you go on flying within air traffic controlled airspace? how would you pay for flying within air traffic space, how would it be registered? would your local council give you permission to land it in your garden? will it be allowed to drive on the road without the obligatory crash protection, safety measures etc?

The nimby/banana brigade are already trying to close every airport in the world, and the greens dont want you to use anything that produces carbon, altho I do wonder if they include breathing in that idea?

But the killer shot to this as a suitable congestion busting form of transport, not to mention the fact you could, kind of, fly in a straight line from a to b or c etc, and therefore reduce the amount of emission that journey would take by other forms of transport is..............how the hell is that traffic camera going to take your picture when you are flying at least 1000ft above it?


Unless they make Gatso Barrage balloons?


a new expression...." The skys the Speed limit"

 

[R2e]

But the killer shot to this as a suitable congestion busting form of transport, not to mention the fact you could, kind of, fly in a straight line from a to b or c etc, and therefore reduce the amount of emission that journey would take by other forms of transport is..............how the hell is that traffic camera going to take your picture when you are flying at least 1000ft above it?


Unless they make Gatso Barrage balloons?


a new expression...." The skys the Speed limit"

Surely in a conveyance like that you'd be doing warp speed so the Gatso would fail to pick you up.

Can you just see one of these with blue fluorescents and a large can on the exhaust doing wheelies in the sky..................frightening

 

[Shude]

Pretty miserable in the rain I imagine

 

[stats007]

Saw that in the Metro - not sure what the point is if it can only fly at 3m above the ground .

 

[jaymanek]

i think its quite interesting... very back to the future..

 

[glojo]

I go along with Scumbag. What is it? Is it a hovercraft, is it a plane, is it a helicopter or is it superman?

If it can only fly at 10ft then its useless, there is no way you could hover along on a highway, or take off from a field, as you would collide with the first obstacle over 10ft in height, or am I missing something?

Me thinks it's just another rich man's toy?

 

[jaymanek]

yes it probably is but as with all these things it paves the way for further advances in the area... who knows, it sounds silly now but we may all be driving cars that hover above the ground in 50 years...

 

[glojo]

yes it probably is but as with all these things it paves the way for further advances in the area... who knows, it sounds silly now but we may all be driving cars that hover above the ground in 50 years...

I'm sure your right, but I do hope they develop the braking system of the hovercraft.

 

[R2e]

The article says -

To avoid the need to pass FAA regulations, the civilian version of the Volantor is restricted to heights of 10 feet, but can travel as fast as 50mph and fly for up to 90minutes. Military or rescue versions could be unencumbered by such limitations.

The big problem with such a vehicle is it moves in three dimensions and is also affected by wind conditions. This controllability problem makes it unlikely to ever become mass transport (in my opinion, I could be wrong ) like a car, same reasons hovercraft have never taken over from wheeled vehicles, they are difficult to control.

And why bother, teleporting is obviously just around the corner (anybody see Heroes on Wednesday night?).