Modern technology is close to creating a future in which a fleet of flying cars transports people through the sky just as Toyota Priuses and…
Science fiction set the stage, and now modern technology is close to creating a future in which a fleet of flying cars transports people through the sky just as Toyota Priuses and Honda Civics carry passengers on the roads today.
Last month, ride-sharing company Uber held its inaugural « Elevate Summit » in Dallas, announcing its plan to have an « urban aviation ecosystem » demonstration by 2020, in partnership with the cities of Dallas and Dubai. Plenty of hype surrounds this project and others, which are being marketed not only as the flying taxis of the future that would reduce commuting time but also as recreational vehicles, such as the Kitty Hawk Flyer, from Google co-founder Larry Page.
However, the three-year time frame presented by Uber is « ambitious, » said David Oord, senior director of regulatory affairs at Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, an advocacy organization for aviation.
« They have the right people in the room, the right minds, the right funding and partnerships, but it will be a group effort of monumental scale, » Oord told the Washington Examiner. He added: « Is it achievable? Yes. »
There is little doubt that this form of air transport will happen one day, but the notion of seamless road-to-air transition likely won’t be how the system would work, at least at first. While there are some projects, such as the Terrafugia TF-X, which would be a vehicle that could both drive and use turbine engines to take off and fly, most projects in the works would focus on flying only. Specifically, they would be electric vertical take-off and landing, or VTOL, aircraft, which would use a series of take-off and landing pads that would have a charging port, Oord explained.
That is what Uber has in mind, as prescribed in a nearly 100-page white paper released last year exploring « on-demand urban air transportation. »
« The majority of the vehicles will never have an intention of being on the road, » Oord said. But for those suddenly thinking that the new ground car they just bought was a bad choice, don’t fret. Oord « totally » envisions a system in which VTOLs and ground cars work in tandem.
