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No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes on the Flying Car

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Re: No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes on the Flying Car

#11

Post by MikeTheGreat »

I really, really hope that flying cars never come to pass. Right now, when an accident happens, we know where it will happen: on the road or right next to the road (more-or-less). If flying cars were ever to become a thing you could be killed by a drunk driver crashing into the roof of your house / top floor bedroom, hundreds of feet from any road.

Disclaimer: I haven't read the article (It keeps asking me to pay money to subscribe)(which is fair to do, but I'm just not doing that right now)

Re: No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes on the Flying Car

#12

Post by FabHK »

jvandonsel wrote: post #2

No mention of Lilium, unfortunately, though they aren't in SV. https://lilium.com/

Here are a few players in this market (location:firm:product):

* Germany: E-volo: Volocopter

* Germany: Lilium Aviation: Lilium Jet

* Slovakia: AeroMobil 3.0

* EU/Silicon Valley: Airbus Urban Mobility: Vahana

* Israel: Urban Aeronautics: Cormorant

* China: eHang: eHang 184

* USA: zee.aero

* USA: Joby Aviation: S2

* USA: Kitty Hawk

* USA: Terrafugium (“legacy”): TF-X

* USA: Icon (“legacy”)

* USA: PAL-V (actual flying car)

Re: No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes on the Flying Car

#13

Post by s0rce »

1024core wrote: post #8

No mention of Ehang 184: http://www.ehang.com/ehang184 I don't know much about the company, but they seem to have got something airborne in the last couple of years: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iyCgy1juHc

I just watched the Ehang video and was confused because the footage looked like they flew over Hetch Hetchy (00:16s in the video, recognizable valley/reservoir in Yosemite National Park), considering I can't bring any motorized vehicles onto the lake my dog isn't even allowed there I was surprised they could do this. Further investigation reveals most of the footage is fake https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2016/01/08/as-drones-ta...

Re: No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes on the Flying Car

#14

Post by hbk1966 »

aphextron wrote: post #5

Another nonsense marketing piece. The image in the article is not even remotely close to a flying car. It is a ducted fan ground effect craft, no different than what NASA and USAF have worked on since the 1950's. Sure you could sort out the stability and flight automation problems with modern software. But the underlying problem to solve is one of energy storage, not aerospace engineering. This company will run into…

Colin Furze even made one a few months ago.

Re: No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes on the Flying Car

#15

Post by eatbitseveryday »

tomcam wrote: post #7
aphextron wrote: post #5

Another nonsense marketing piece. The image in the article is not even remotely close to a flying car. It is a ducted fan ground effect craft, no different than what NASA and USAF have worked on since the 1950's. Sure you could sort out the stability and flight automation problems with modern software. But the underlying problem to solve is one of energy storage, not aerospace engineering. This company will run into…

Not to mention noise. Today's cars are gratifyingly quiet. Ground effect craft are emphatically not

> Today's cars are gratifyingly quiet.

Only if you sit on the inside ;) Highway noises are extremely loud, and engine noises on local roads, especially from trucks, are painful in some places.

Re: No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes on the Flying Car

#16

Post by knz »

eatbitseveryday wrote: post #15
tomcam wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention noise. Today's cars are gratifyingly quiet. Ground effect craft are emphatically not

> Today's cars are gratifyingly quiet. Only if you sit on the inside ;) Highway noises are extremely loud, and engine noises on local roads, especially from trucks, are painful in some places.

It's still minimal, or at least more tolerated, compared to aviation related noise.

Re: No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes on the Flying Car

#18

Post by mannykannot »

eatbitseveryday wrote: post #15
tomcam wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention noise. Today's cars are gratifyingly quiet. Ground effect craft are emphatically not

> Today's cars are gratifyingly quiet. Only if you sit on the inside ;) Highway noises are extremely loud, and engine noises on local roads, especially from trucks, are painful in some places.

People may also be misled by how comparatively quiet electric cars are in an urban/suburban environment, and expect electric flyers will be similar (assuming the battery problem is solved.) This view overlooks two things: 1) a VTOL flyer would be at maximum power at take-off and landing, and at a high power level in cruise; 2) a lot of noise comes from the propellers or fans, and there is not much scope for reducing it.

Re: No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes on the Flying Car

#19

Post by shoefly »

MikeTheGreat wrote: post #11

I really, really hope that flying cars never come to pass. Right now, when an accident happens, we know where it will happen: on the road or right next to the road (more-or-less). If flying cars were ever to become a thing you could be killed by a drunk driver crashing into the roof of your house / top floor bedroom, hundreds of feet from any road. Disclaimer: I haven't read the article (It keeps asking me to pay mon…

I'm 99.9% certain these vehicles would be forced to fly over existing roads. And it's likely the final product would be autonomous to ensure no one could do a random fly over of your house.
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