20 Wednesday Sep 2017
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Here they go again.
Well, it’s not a flying car. It’s a motorcycle. Prototype. Concept. Test. Not just quite ready for the market at this time.
Three years! 2025! Couple of decades. 23rd Century….
Whatever.
Kitty Hawk.
Nice concept. However, I think 8 feet above water might be about right. As built, or as looks, this thing could have no glide factor. If the engine dies, pilot/rider dies. And obviously not suited for Class A cruising.
Anywho, plenty of YEARS to work that out, Buck Rogers.
05 Tuesday Sep 2017
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That was an actual Drudge headline. See:
This story is a little different than the usual flying car hype job in that a German startup did really get a prototype off the ground.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohig71bwRUE
Lilium/YouTube.
2.6 Million viewers – not bad. And I am impressed that the thing flew. However, that does not equate to being able to purchase and fly one for personal transportation. Not yet.
Neither the Times story nor the company placed the usual time frame on delivery. That’s usually anywhere between “later this year” and “never.” Remember, I’ve been following these things for over 25 years.
300 KPH (186 MPH) ain’t bad. A 300 Km range is. And I’d like to see the prototype operate with passengers. Could it?
I’ve said before, “I’ll believe it when I fly it.” I stand by that. And I really do want to believe.
So, let’s go, Lilium, or whomever. Wheels up!
24 Monday Apr 2017
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Here we go again. And this story isn’t even about a flying car. It’s a flying …. motorbike? Jet ski?
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — On a recent afternoon, an aerospace engineer working for a small Silicon Valley company called Kitty Hawk piloted a flying car above a scenic lake about 100 miles north of San Francisco.
Kitty Hawk’s flying car, if you insisted on calling it a “car,” looked like something Luke Skywalker would have built out of spare parts. It was an open-seated, 220-pound contraption with room for one person, powered by eight battery-powered propellers that howled as loudly as a speedboat.
The tech industry, as we are often told, is fond of disrupting things, and lately the automakers have been a big target. Cars that use artificial intelligence to drive themselves, for example, have been in development for a few years and can be spotted on roads in a number of cities. And now, coming onto the radar screen, are flying machines that do not exactly look like your father’s Buick with wings.
Silicon Valley is on the case. Problem solved. Now you too can zip around, 15 feet off the ground, at 15 MPH. Without passengers. Or luggage. Or protection from the elements. For about five minutes. Best to do it over water. Wear a helmet. And, as always, “now” means some indeterminate time in the future.
Carlos Slim’s Blog.
I have to admit that this thing looks kind of cool, in a Daffy Duck in the 25th and 1/2 Century kind of way… (Remember his suit or wings or whatever?) And it is very impressive it actually works – slowly, lowly, and for a very short time.
The Bezos-Gates-Google-Apple, flying, toy drone, Duck Rogers go-cart! Coming to a dealer near you! Sometime. Sometime tomorrow… Next year. 2030. Maybe…
I’ll believe it when I fly it.
20 Thursday Apr 2017
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A week or so ago I exposed the lie that is the flying car market. Or racket. Or just “lie”. Lies, lies, and more lies. Next year…
Then, I predicted that AeroMobil’s prototype toy would be a mere prop at the (then) upcoming show. Today I read this headline: Flying cars take off on French Riviera. Complete and utter BS!
Dutch and Slovak companies unveiled their designs as world premieres in the tiny well-heeled principality, where luxury automakers have gathered until Sunday for the Top Marques showcase event.
Bratislava-based Aeromobil, whose first prototype presented two years ago suffered an accident, is back with a “new generation” of flying vehicle named after the firm which makes it.
“We are taking reservations from today for deliveries expected in 2020, after the process of (regulatory) approvals is completed,” the Slovak firm’s spokesman Stefan Vadocz told AFP.
What did I say? 2020. 2030. 2150. NEVER. Lies. Lies. Lies. And more and bigger lies.
This is FAKE NEWS. The little car-plane that couldn’t. Phys.org.
One will note the expected delivery date is ALWAYS nebulously in the uncertain future. One will also note this sad display took place at a convention hall in Monaco. Cote d’Azur and La Mole were available, with all runways open. Then again, if you’re “prototype” can’t fly, what’s the point?
The good news is that your $1 Million, or whatever they claim, will go a long way in the general aviation market – towards a real product that actually fly – today, not in 20…never.
The bad news took place farther north in France today. I’ll be on that in a second, as soon as WP refreshes.
“Flying” cars … geesh….
11 Tuesday Apr 2017
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Little known fact: Perrin is (was) obsessed with flying cars. I have studied these concepts (they’re never anything more than a concept) for over 25 years. Every two or three years it’s the same thing: “The Flying Car is Here! Today! Err…Tomorrow! Soon…ish…. sometime. Sometime soon, maybe in a year or 40….” Like this, today:
IF flying cars are the future, the future is right now.
The first ever production-ready flying car is due to be shown off later this month at the world’s most exclusive supercar show – Top Marques Monaco.
Why chose between driving or flying when you could do both?
Built by Slovak pioneering company AeroMobil, the vehicle was first revealed as a concept in 2014, and now a much improved version is ready for the world’s richest to take for a spin and purchase if they wish.
Fully functional as both an aircraft and a four-wheeled car, it is powered by hybrid propulsion, with wings sweeping back against the body when the vehicle is in driving mode.
The Sun.
“If”. If is the worst, damnedest word in the all of auto-aviation. “The future is here, today! Well, today is next month at the auto show … where the think will be a mock-up. Flight testing in 2019. On sale in 2022 2260 never….”
Spare me. That thing looks cool, much like the Moller Skycar … in 1990…
Never. Took. Off. Moller / Wikipedia.
I’m waiting patiently as I have for the past 1,000 years or so. In spite of my (what?) 1,000,000+ miles driving experience, I really, really hate traffic. That, coupled with my rudimentary and aging flying skills, make me the perfect driver/flyer for this, the Moller, or anything else that will get me up over and off of the Interstates.
Must I duct tape a hang-glider to a dirtbike or something?
How about this?
This will probably fly first.
*The ready solution is a Cessna and a rental car. Plausible, yes. But the flying car is – well, it’s the all in one package.
PERRIN LOVETT 
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