Imagine strapping yourself into your car and instead of going forward you begin to lift upward, sort of like you imagined a flying saucer would take off when you were a kid, but you're no alien and this is for real.
Flying Cars, Are You for Real?
The First Years Jet Lightweight Stroller
When Doctor Paul Moller founded the Moller Institute in 1983, the idea of a flying car remained in the world of fantasy and Sci-fi enthusiasts. Today Dr. Moller's dream of commuter transportation using the sky has moved from the imagination to the first stages of reality. Today the Moller Institute through Freedom Motors (formed by Moller) has produced the MX-400, a futuristic looking sky-car that can take off vertically and get speeds of 350 mph. Its engine is light weight, producing less emissions than conventional motors, but has a drawback...it only get 15 miles per gallon.
Flying Cars become Competitive
The Moller Sky Car is not the only flying car in production. Flying cars or Personal Air Vehicles (PAV) are personal vehicles that maneuver both on the road and in the sky. Besides the Moller Sky Car there are at least four other PAV's under development. The Transition by Terrafugia Inc, the Haynes Aero Skyblazer by Haynes Aero, the FSC-1 by LaBiche Aerospace, the Magic Dragon , by StrongMobile, and the Moller M400 Skycar by Moller International are changing the face of the vehicular transportation industry.
This change moves the concept and potential that has long been held only by the military to "car manufacturers." The implication of these projects are many and may very well complicate the transportation industry, city planning, and aviation for years to come.
Flying Vertically
Not all future flying cars use Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) technology, but it sure has made the ones that do stand out amongst the crowd. This innovation allows the PAV to lift off instead of take off, making it more like a heli-car than a flying car.
VTOL has been in use by the US Military for some time, most notably in the form of the harrier jet. What's remarkable is that both the Moller Sky Car and the X-Hawk use this same technology in their "for driveway vehicles." There are some drawbacks to VTOL, like the price, but the advantages of VTOL technology in flying cars are obvious-no runways needed. It reminds one of that now famous line Doc Brown says to Marty at the end of Back to the Future: "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads."
The Future is in the Sky
Ever since society moved into motorized travel, the sky has been the final frontier of personal travel. It is only natural that as technology advances, car designs will develop that incorporate and amalgamate the ideas and dreams held within us.
With the increasing movement towards creating the next generation of vehicles, the sky is the most likely target. From Moller to LaBiche Aerospace, intense energy has begun to be put into lifting the everyday person into the sky. Whether future flying cars will be used for commuting or recreation, the possibilities are endless. With profound implications for society and the environment, the flying car's effects are just beginning to be felt.