Poll of the Day > flying "cars" made by a company called Kitty Hawk

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Zikten
06/06/18 12:52:32 PM
#1:


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Smarkil
06/06/18 1:18:50 PM
#2:


That's not a flying car.

That's a flying boat.
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Mario_VS_DK
06/06/18 2:43:08 PM
#3:


I really doubt those will really ever take off. (Some pun intended.) For them to overtake road vehicles, they need to be cheaper, safer, and have just as much range as what we are currently using. And I seriously doubt it even comes close to doing any of those. Not to mention it only fits a single person and probably not much luggage, and as you scale up to fit more people and stuff in it, it gets exponentially more expensive, less safe, and less range.
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BlazeAndBlade
06/06/18 2:54:32 PM
#4:


was expecting the cars like the ones from back to the future 2 was disappointed
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Yellow
06/06/18 3:00:50 PM
#5:


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adjl
06/06/18 4:36:46 PM
#6:


Mario_VS_DK posted...
For them to overtake road vehicles, they need to be cheaper, safer, and have just as much range as what we are currently using.


Depends what they overtake road vehicles for. The range issue isn't actually relevant for the vast majority of driving, which tends to be commuting relatively short distances. They'll never replace cars for longer trips, certainly, but provided they can run for half an hour or so continuously, they'd be a viable option for commuting.

The real hurdle comes in regulating them. They may currently manage to stay under the FAA's boundary for requiring a pilot's license, but if the idea starts to look like it has any commercial merit, there'll be new, pretty heavy restrictions on their use. There are no "rules of the sky" analogous to those that govern the road, and nobody wants a bunch of unlicensed civilians flying around without rules.
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Dikitain
06/06/18 4:46:52 PM
#7:


adjl posted...
The real hurdle comes in regulating them. They may currently manage to stay under the FAA's boundary for requiring a pilot's license, but if the idea starts to look like it has any commercial merit, there'll be new, pretty heavy restrictions on their use. There are no "rules of the sky" analogous to those that govern the road, and nobody wants a bunch of unlicensed civilians flying around without rules.

As it stands now, they make it under the FAA's requirement because they are technically classified as an "ultralight", or in other words they are incapable of causing significant damage if they crash. Basically an ultralight is (from Wikipedia, which gets it from the FAA site):

Weighs less than 254 pounds (115 kg) empty weight, excluding floats and safety devices. Has a maximum fuel capacity of 5 U.S. gallons (19 L) Has a top speed of 55 knots (102 km/h; 63 mph) calibrated airspeed at full power in level flight.

Also, it can only seat one person. Anything outside of those bounds and it requires a license and yearly inspection, essentially making it a full aircraft.
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Mead
06/06/18 5:31:07 PM
#8:


Flying cars wont be a thing until there are stop signs for going up/down/diagonal
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