Non-Shockwave Welcome

18 May 2012 | or Register

News & Articles Comments  

Flying cars of the future

Louis Rix Louis Rix
Wednesday 30 November 2011

The dawn of the 20th century saw a rise in aspirational thoughts, as the human race began to invent incredible new technologies that were not only helpful, but life-changing. For the first time in history, humans could take flights to and from places, we could wash our clothes in a machine and we could cook food via microwaves. It was all great, fantastic and rather exciting, but one notion of the mid-20th century would last forever in most visionary's minds; the flying car.

bigm400-.jpgSince the introduction of the motorcar in the late 1800s, we have strived to create the perfect machine. From the beginnings with 1bhp to the Bugatti Veyron with 1000bhp, our love for the car has always forced our clever people in the world to be pro-active and make them better. But one thing that's never really been mastered is the aforementioned mid-1950's dream of a flying car.

Sure, some examples were made, but in fairness they never really took off - pardon the pun. They flew, but they were too expensive and complicated for the general public to feasibly own, and as a result, the flying car has yet to make a big impact on our daily lives. But what about the future, is there a chance we'll be driving - or flying - a car that is capable of flight and financially viable?

The best place to start has to be the Moller Skycar. It's long-overdue, and is probably the most famous, modern-day car that can also 'fly'.  Moller's Skycar, if it ever goes into production, is said to be capable of around 375mph, which is obviously pretty brisk, but it has a big problem to deal with - like every other modern skycar - and it comes in the shape of paper. That's right; the one thing keeping the flying car from domination is the paper-work. Think about it; in today's health and safety-crazed world you can't take a poo without having to sign some form of letter that waivers liability. Likewise with any skill you have. If you're a pilot, you need about a trillion different licenses to even be classed as 'air-worthy', and this is what is keeping the flying car at bay.

There's another problem, too, which is that Moller's Skycar - despite it looking cool - doesn't actually fly, yet. It's hovered a few times, but that's about it. So even in 2011, we're struggling. There's no doubt that it's a feasible and do-able prospect - as the 1950s proved - but in 2011, the game has changed, the world has moved on, and in a way, we have kind of grown up as a world. Flying cars would be great, but in reality, they're something for the distant future, instead of the near future, as our current infrastructure just wouldn't work, and you'd have to land in airfields miles and miles away from your home, which would probably become tiresome.

So for now, or until Moller and his company get the funds they need, it looks like the dream of driving in the skies will remain just that, a dream.

This article was brought to you by Louis Rix from Netcars.com

Be the first to comment on this.

Name *
Location
E-mail
Comment *
 
 

Moller Skycar