Will Cars Fly?

The driverless car fiasco reminds me of people asking me as a futurist whether cars will fly. I used to say No, but I found out that's the wrong answer. The correct answer is that they used to.

Yes, Henry Ford created a car that flew.  The test pilot flew it from his house to his office at the Ford plant.  Charles Lindbergh flew it, but it was so bad not even Lucky Lindy would fly it a second time.

Then the flying car crashed, killing the test pilot.  End of flying cars.  Will the driverless car end up the same way? 

Comments

[Car Insurance in Florida]

I am advised of a saying that air journey wasn't naturally risky, but that like the sea, it was really unforgiving of mistake.

[Miles Bader]

@D.P.:
Moller has been "pretty close to actual service" for many decades. He's generally considered a crank/charlatan these days.

[D. P. Lubic]

I have a weird brain. Someone says something, or I think of something, and something else pops up. In this case, it's this classic ad from the Washington (DC) Metro system:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4y6tqdLbLY

More silly brain cell tickling going on--recalling an animated TV series from the late 1950s or early 1960s, called "Supercar:"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snh1b7h2sMA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJkQD8gCP1E

Cool Dude may think I'm making fun of him (I'm not), and he may think I'm skeptical of Google's self-driving car (I am, at least as an excuse for not rebuilding the rail system), but I still hope he--and you--still enjoy these little blasts from the past. . .

[D. P. Lubic]

There are people still working on it (and pouring a considerable amount of money into the effort), and technologically, it is doable:

http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/top-ten-flying-cars/

Some of these are supposedly pretty close to actual service:

http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/moller-taking-pre-orders-for-m400-skycar/

http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/terrafugia-transition-worlds-first-flying-car-ready-for-productiongrab-it-for-148000/

My own comments are that these will be, at best, very specialized machines, comparable to amphibious cars (remember those?) Even the "bargain" prices quoted are into 6 figures, and one could be in seven.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphibious_vehicle

http://www.amphicar.com/

The fuel to run these things is going to be pricey, too, if it can be had at all in some cases. Check out "peak oil" for some understanding of this. This is an advantage of electric trains; the electricity can come from all sorts of places and sources, and they don't have to carry a storage battery with them. As some wags have put it, you can't put a windmill on your car. . .

Another point to consider is that even with all the additional navigational aids that will be available and necessary (particularly for the Skycar), you still have a problem of people who have trouble being awake, sober, and just using good judgement in the use of the vehicles. We have enough problems with human error in moving in two dimensions. Now we are talking about moving in three, and having in a lot of cases some huge areas and scale variations for the eye to compensate for.

I am reminded of a saying that air travel wasn't inherently unsafe, but that like the sea, it was terribly unforgiving of error.