(prototype, never achieved flight)
Jess Dixon's flying auto, 1940:
Convair Model 116, 1946:
Aircraft designer Glenn Curtiss built his Autoplane in 1917. It had a pusher propeller for flight, with removable flight surfaces including a triplane wing, canard foreplane and twin tails.
Did it fly?
Do I want to live in a city where women are parking these?
Gushing writer acts like this is the first flying car.
Not even close.
And for those who think these will be practical, let me introduce you to the FAA, pilot licensing, and flight plans.
Which are probably the main real reason flying cars have not become significant.
Might be able to land and take off from the top of a parking garage....
Now add teenagers.
Wait for these things to start falling out of the sky.
Roads? 🛣️🛣️🛣️
Where we’re going we don’t need roads
🛣️🛣️🛣️🛣️🛣️🛣️
It’s not a flying car if it can’t be driven on the street. It’s only a car-shaped drone.
https://www.invent.org/inductees/glenn-hammond-curtiss
Glenn Hammond Curtiss
Hydroaeroplane
U.S. Patent No. 1,170,965
Inducted in 2003
Born May 21, 1878 - Died July 23, 1930
Glenn Curtiss influenced every field of aeronautics. He holds 72 patents, including designs for dirigibles, aeroplanes, flying boats, commercial aircraft, and Navy planes. Curtiss built one of the first flying machines to land in water and founded one of the first companies created specifically for manufacturing airplanes.
Curtiss was born in Hammondsport, New York and opened a motorcycle shop in 1901. Respected for his quality motorcycle engines, Curtiss built the engine for the California Arrow, the first successful dirigible in America. He also worked for Alexander Graham Bell in the Aerial Experiment Association, designing the June Bug. It included ailerons a device controlling the lateral balance of an airplane making the Wright’s wing-warping obsolete. In 1911, Curtiss designed a seaplane for the Navy, adding retractable landing gear to his design. By the start of World War I, Curtiss was the largest American aircraft manufacturer. His most famous design was the Jenny, which was primarily a military training aircraft for WWI and later used for barnstorming and mail delivery.
Glenn Curtiss is considered the most influential man in the evolution of aviation. His keen insight into aeronautics and aviation, despite having no formal education past eighth grade, affirms his genius. He holds the Collier Trophy and the Langley Medal.
I’ll stick with my transporter, thank you very much.
Considering what’s going on the roads. this is all we need now is flying cars.
“...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? ;>)
(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.
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.
Where to start...
One ugly azz car
How much fuel was used for that one maneuver
What would the license requirements be ..pilot?
If everyone has one then nothing was solved
The limited landspeed of 25mph will sink the venture with the present planned model. If they are going to sell the vehicle as both able to fly and able to drive on the roads, they will have to engineer it to have a much higher max land speed of at least 65mph.