DAVID ADAMS looks at the growing push to make flying cars a reality…
The idea of a car that flies – a personal vehicle that allows you to commute in 3D – has been around pretty much since the first automobiles hit the road. We’ve been teased by the concept ever since – ever since The Jetsons cartoons aired in the 1960s, virtually every science fiction movie that involves an urban environment has toyed with the idea. But finally, we may be seen some moves to bring it to reality. Just this month Dutch aircraft manufacturer Pal-V launched the Pal-V Liberty what it called the “world’s first flying car production model” at a European motor show, describing the two person vehicle as a “a car that flies” and “a plane that drives”. But while the car-plane, which can convert from one mode to the other in just 10 minutes, is apparently certified to fly in both the US and the EU, the driver will still need a pilot’s licence. Other companies are also working on the concept – Slovakian firm AeroMobil and German firm Lilium among them. Meanwhile, there are also a number of organisations, including Kitty Hawk, Uber, and Airbus, which are exploring a related idea – that of personal flying taxis, known as vertical take-off and landing aircraft (VTOLs) which, unlike the flying cars, can’t drive along roads but can travel door-to-door. Of course, the flying car poses numerous challenges for authorities in terms of licencing and policing but the rise of the use of drones in recent years has seen eyes turning more and more to the buzzing sound in the sky and considering the possibilities. Momentum on the concept of the flying car is growing and the day when we have a vehicle that can both drive along the road and fly parked in our driveway is drawing ever closer.
