The Flying Cars are Coming – No, Really they Are!
So, you thought you’d never see flying cars become a reality during the course of your life? It might be time to guess again as not only are the things becoming less of an elaborate dream every day, but one has also managed to make its way to April’s International Auto Show in New York City. With its appropriately futuristic name the Terrafugia Transition is more of a two seater aircraft than a car, though does have the regulation four wheels and light clusters front and back. For a number of years now, the Massachusetts-based brains behind the vehicle have been marketing it as a “roadable aircraft” which in a sense is the exact opposite though exactly the same as a “flying car.”…and you thought your state of the art recruitment software was advanced technology!The company has been around for ages now and has largely confined its services to general aviation, though given the number of customers who have already offered over a cool $279,000 to take home their latest creation, they’ve obviously seen there is a market gap out there waiting to be filled.
A big one!Deposits have been flying in…if you’ll ignore the pun…from people without any flying experience, basically confirming that drivers in huge numbers are ready to hit the skies. So, they headed to New York to grant the world a good look at the vehicle itself, though of course were not able to deliver a realistic demonstration. The cruising speed of the flying car is said to be just over 100mph, so it’s technically faster than most cars given that it will take you from A to B in a straight line. On the other hand, it’s quite a deal slower than similar private light aircraft which in most cases will sell for a good $100,000 cheaper.
And therein lies the problem, at the moment the very best flying car the world has is not really an amazing car or an amazing plane, but rather a modest stopgap between the two. That being said, for those that are more interested in bragging rights and the novelty alone – of which there are of course millions – anything like the Terrefugia is bound to be a hit. True, the very notion brings to mind a million and one issues regarding how exactly a driver would learn to fly one these, who’d be in charge of the air traffic control and who on Earth would be willing to insure you!! Still, all concerns for another day…let the future begin!
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