Flying cars have been around for ages, they’re called helicopters. They’re loud, expensive and dangerous as every other idea for something equivalent is.
Helicopters aren’t cars. But actual flying cars have indeed existed for at least ten years. I’m too lazy to go find this segment I watched on the topic, but I remember seeing one.
Gyrocoptors. They’re closer to a flying car, since if you can drive a car, you can legally fly a gyrocoptor in the US. Just remember to file flight plans, and watch out for power lines. The way you land the things is to kill the engine.
You do glide. The rotor providing lift isn’t connected to anything, the lift is provided by horizontal speed. You’d have to literally hit a building, a mountain, or power lines to crash the things. You don’t need a pilots license to operate them, because you basically can’t crash them and the entire aircraft weighs quite a bit less than a car.
We’ve had actual flying cars too, though they were really just car shaped quadcopters and never made it to mass production because they sucked as transportation.
Flying cars have been around for ages, they’re called helicopters. They’re loud, expensive and dangerous as every other idea for something equivalent is.
What do you do if the engine dies in your car? Put your hazards on and pull over. In your helicopter? Pray you can autorotate to a field.
But in a plane? Weeee! I’m in a glider!!
Bonk!
Helicopters aren’t cars. But actual flying cars have indeed existed for at least ten years. I’m too lazy to go find this segment I watched on the topic, but I remember seeing one.
here you go
May the Shwartz be with you
At first I thought someone had done that to a SAAB which would have been appropriately hilarious
Did that thing really fly? The center of lift seems way off from the center of weight.
Motor is just fore of the prop, engine compartment of the car must be empty.
Is that the car-plane from The Man With The Golden Gun?
it’s one of the first pictures I got searching ‘flying car 70s’ because I had a vague recollection that someone built it in the 70s
Close to a hundred years. Yes, I was surprised to discover this, too.
Of course there have been who knows how many subsequent attempts ever since.
Gyrocoptors. They’re closer to a flying car, since if you can drive a car, you can legally fly a gyrocoptor in the US. Just remember to file flight plans, and watch out for power lines. The way you land the things is to kill the engine.
They’ve still got the same danger as helicopters. If something goes wrong, you can’t glide and you’ll likely just fall out of the sky.
You do glide. The rotor providing lift isn’t connected to anything, the lift is provided by horizontal speed. You’d have to literally hit a building, a mountain, or power lines to crash the things. You don’t need a pilots license to operate them, because you basically can’t crash them and the entire aircraft weighs quite a bit less than a car.
Hmm, TIL, thanks.
We’ve had actual flying cars too, though they were really just car shaped quadcopters and never made it to mass production because they sucked as transportation.
Honestly the older ones with the wings from the 40s are probably less “kill you if something goes wrong” than anything today.