Posted on 02/21/2025 7:08:53 PM PST by mairdie
That’s one way to avoid congestion pricing.
U.S. automaker Alef Aeronautics proved that the sky’s not the limit for vehicles after releasing the first-ever footage of a flying car like something out of a science-fiction movie.
The groundbreaking fly run starts off typically enough with the black test vehicle — which is 100% electric — driving along a road in California. Then, all of a sudden, it lifts off vertically and soars over another car like a less futuristic scene from the film "Back To The Future II."
Flight is facilitated through a system called distributed electric propulsion, with a mesh layer covering propeller blades to allow air to flow through the vehicle, according to the Daily Mail.
“This is the first publicly released video of a car driving and taking off vertically,” declared company CEO Jim Dukhovny in a recent press release. He compared the automotive milestone to the Wright Brothers’ revolutionary Kitty Hawk video from 1903, Electrek reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
lol
Passing over stalled traffic, it will blast the paint off the vehicles it flies over.
My grandfather, Jack Bell, was a rare earths prospector and a newspaper feature writer. He became fascinated with aviation in 1922 and wrote extensively about the early airmail planes on the route between Reno NV and Oakland CA.
Grandfather Jack Bell
https://youtu.be/Dnnb63UEk9c
I cannot publicly say what might happen if you pass over my car with that contraption.
Particularly one of my convertibles.
But it might be a very bad day for you.
“...a mesh layer covering propeller blades to allow air to flow through the vehicle”
That’s clear as mud.
“removable flight surfaces”
Why did he want to remove them? ;>)
That’s a great short video about Glen Curtiss and Hammondsport. I grew up in Ithaca, 45 miles east of Hammondsport. At that time, Hammondsport was famous as a viticultural region with good wineries. The Glen Curtiss Museum opened in 1962 when I was 11 years old, but I never knew about Glen Curtiss’ connection to Hammondsport nor that there is a great museum there. I’d love to visit it!
I’ll stick with my transporter, thank you very much.
><
Me, too. I love it.
Your grandfather was quite a man. Thanks for sharing.
They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.
Rusty Griswold: Wow dad, we must have jumped that rail by like 50 yards.
Clark Griswald: Nothing to be proud of Russ...
[pauses as Rusty walks away]
Clark Griswald: [proudly] ... 50 yards...
Most people can’t drive when they’re dealing with two dimensions. Add a third and it’s game on!
BttF!
That EV Humvee that can crab walk can be yours for about $113,000.
You're joking right? Number of landings always equals number of take-offs. It's a rule.
(prototype, never achieved flight)
Jess Dixon's flying auto, 1940:
Convair Model 116, 1946:
Since $300,000 is a little steep for me, looks like I’ll remain earthbound.
Do I want to be flying one of these when the battery dies?
The big problem with flying cars is that they’re not practical unless they’re capable of VERTOL, and both from the standpoint of the cost of the aircraft and the cost of operation, VERTOL is hideously expensive (compared to rolling take-off, particularly when it’s fixed-wing).
And the expense problem is even worse if you want to market it to people who don’t have pilot’s licenses.
Curtis was a mixed bag - a thief and an entrepreneur. He ignored (stole) the Wright Bros patents on their airplane designs to build his own. On the other hand he did much to advance aviation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.