DailyDirt: Flying Around Everywhere..?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The promise of flying cars and a future like the Jetsons obviously hasn't come to pass, but people are still working on it. Yes, drivers haven't even mastered safely navigating roads, and adding another dimension and the risk of falling out of the sky isn't going to help. Still, we shouldn't let these challenges prevent us from trying to create an awesome and boundless future of flying safely to work or school or a grocery store. Maybe we'll have groceries delivered by drones, instead of needing to shop for them in person, but traveling everyday by flying shouldn't just be for the birds.

• Larry Page owns not just one, but two flying car companies. Zee.Aero and Kitty Hawk are the companies, out of about a dozen, that are working on some kind of flying car for personal transportation. [url]
• Huge solar-powered airships from China could be floating 20 kilometers up in the sky someday. The Yuanmeng airship has been tested for 24 hours already, and it has a 5-7 ton payload capability. [url]
• The solar-powered plane, Solar Impulse 2, recently landed in NYC and is preparing to cross the Atlantic next. This solar-powered plane is setting some records for endurance (not speed), but presumably the technology will get better and this demonstration will lead to more solar-powered flights around the world. [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.

Filed Under: airship, drones, flying cars, larry page, personal aviation vehicles, roadable aircraft, solar impulse, yuanmeng

DailyDirt: Flying Cars Are Here!

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The future has pretty much arrived already. We've been waiting for flying cars and super-smart computers, but if we're willing to accept some flaws, these things exist today. (And if you believe the press releases of Lockheed Martin, we'll only need to wait a few more years for practical fusion!) Here are just a few more flying cars (or roadable aircraft) that could be roaming around neighborhood streets.

• The AeroMobil 3.0 is the latest working prototype for a flying car that's been under development for nearly 25 years. It doesn't have a price tag yet, but it can be re-fueled at a standard car gas station (when its wings are folded) -- and a previous version has already been certified for flight by Slovakia's Aviation Authority. [url]
• The Maverick can be purchased for $94,000, but it might not be ready for just anyone to fly it. This flying vehicle uses an airfoil-parachute and is aimed at humanitarian missions in areas without airstrips. While a couple of these flying cars have reportedly crashed, there haven't been any major injuries. [url]
• The MyCopter project is seriously looking at the field of personal air transport systems (PATS) to make personal aviation vehicles (PAVs) idiot-proof. It's probably not possible to make anything idiot-proof, but this project could outline what makes an aircraft more usable by the general public (instead of requiring a pilot's license to fly). [url]
• Terrafugia has been working on a flying car and is developing an autonomous version. The prototypes aren't commercially available yet, but they're not too far away. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: autonomous aircraft, flying cars, mycopter, pavs, personal aviation vehicles, roadable aircraft, the maverick
Companies: aeromobil, terrafugia