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If all the 'UFOs' people report today are really secret experimental aircraft/ technology, then, we DO indeed have the technology to make hover/flying cars a reality.
Yes, people building prototypes that can barely hover and fly around a wheatfield (if that... if there is ever a full physical model at all) prove that zippy craft that can hover, change direction rapidly and outrun F-18s and SR-71s exist.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,281 posts, read 54,065,692 times
Reputation: 40571
Quote:
Originally Posted by rstevens62
Gee, I wonder why govt would need to create 'The Invention Secrecy Act of 1951'?
Have you ever read about this, what its purpose was/is? The act has 2 main objectives, both are pretty interesting.
An act created by politicians does nothing to validate the existence of such things as a 200 mpg carburetor. Show me the work of engineers and physicists confirming such a unit is possible for 'normal' everyday vehicles as opposed to bicycle tired entrants in some efficiency contest driven by 98 lb students.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,281 posts, read 54,065,692 times
Reputation: 40571
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quietude
But, see, the super secrecy means we have no idea at all what's been spirited away to those spooky warehouses.
Yeah, I guess the alternate laws of physics leading to things like teletransporters MUST be kept secret to keep transportation industries afloat. Who'd wanna sit on an airplane for 19 hours on the way to Singapore when you could just go online and say 'beam me down Scotty' ?
So far, it's all a single man in the shop deals or "we need your investment/down-payment" deals.
Think about it.
Where you going to take off from?
Where you going to land?
Who will go to pilot school to get license?
Who will create new airborne lay pilots traffic rules?
How this will influence regular, established air traffic?
How will you police those flying cars?
And so on and so on
This is strictly impractical exercise in engineering or money scamming. Show a carbon box with something moving VERY slowly, add to this a quick vid with promising CGI and ask for donations, as those are, basically, donations. I say so as proud ELIO car t-shirt owner, to the tune of $100 sign up donation. 6/3/2014 and they are still in development stages and still asking for funds.
Those flying cars will have to be VTOLs only to be any practical use and only for some open space low to none arial traffic areas. Sure, drug smugglers might be interested, why not. But, otherwise, it's a common joke that been around for way too long.
Just like one of those, and if militaries didn't proceed, you seriously expect civil folks to win this game?
Don't they already have boats and things that can hover?
I want a flying car that doesn't go a million miles a minute and doesn't cost $140,000. I want a flying car that looks like a car (not a plane) that will rise up and hover to about 6-10 feet, do about 70mph, and be small enough to park in a regular parking space. I also want room for my dog and groceries, AC and a CD player, convertible top, and have it use air for fuel. I also want to be the only one to own one so I can fly up and over everyone in a traffic jam. Oh, it also needs to be dual use for service as a regular car and I only want to pay about $2000. Or less. Lots less. Maybe get it for free. Yeah, that works.
This wouldn't be the first flying car to actually work, if it does work. It already became reality 60-70 years ago. The problem has always been the same: The flying car isn't a very good car nor a very good plane.
To answer some of the recent questions in this thread, most are not designed to take off or land without a runway. You've got to have a pilot's license to fly one, and you'd need a runway (either private or public) to take off and land. In flight you follow Federal Flight Rules; on the ground you follow state or city driving regulations. It's not that far-fetched. But they don't make a lot of sense.
The one posted by the OP says it sells for $140K, flies up to 190 mph or drives up to 125 mph on the road. That sounds pretty good. I don't think it'll happen. Even if it did, that $140K would likely be kit price and not include avionics, engine, prop, etc. If it flies 190 mph that's probably downhill, and if it drives at 125 mph that's just until a wind gust sends you into the ditch or worse. WHY would anyone design a flying car, where weight is a primary consideration, to hit 125 mph on the road? Makes no sense to me.
Even if it did all the things it's supposed to do, would you really want to drive that thing in rush hour traffic on slick roads? Would you even want to park it in a public parking space? Can you imagine the "body shop" price to repair getting rear-ended?
Even for a flat $140K, I'd prefer a nice little zippy $100K airplane and $40K in my pocket for Hertz rentals. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
They already exist and are in use in Dubai - probably not as most people would think of them....
No, that's exactly as most people think of them - a one-off prototype that can't possibly survive into a real market, in Dubai or Dubuque or anywhere else. Great score, though.
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