For decades, flying cars have only existed in our dreams and in sci-fi movies like Men In Black, Blade Runner, and Total Recall. They looked surreal and quite frankly out of this world. The thing about flying cars, though, is that they may have seemed great in movies, but not many thought they would work out in reality, at least not yet.
On the contrary, the idea of flying cars isn’t as crazy as most of us thought. They do exist, at least as a working concept. Engineers and designers are already trying to work their magic to make the idea feasible in an everyday life scenario.
As unlikely as it might seem, you must remember that many of the technologies we are working with today were unthinkable not too long ago. For instance, before the ’90s, no one ever thought that casino gamers would have the option of participating in their favorite games in the comfort of their homes via the internet.
And now, it is hard to imagine a world where online casino platforms do not exist. Millions of casino fans would have had to go through the trouble of driving or flying for miles and perhaps even cross borders just to get to a casino that is fit for their gaming escapades!
The Stage is Set for Flying Cars
Only recently, Klein’s Vision aircar in Slovakia received a certificate of airworthiness from the Slovak Transport Authority. This means that it can legally fly around the Slovak air space. German-based company Volocopter also launched Volocity, dubbed the first commercially licensed electric-powered air taxi. On top of solving the traffic jam problem, Volocity also prides itself in avoiding emissions that may be harmful to the air.
So, what does that mean for a daily commuter like you or me that abhors traffic jams? Well, we might just be out of the woods in the future when it comes to migraine-inducing traffic jams. We are heading to a future where you will be checking on traffic updates on the road, and if you find that your preferred route is busy, you’ll have the option to order an air taxi. And it’s going to be as simple as hailing a ride on Uber or Lyft.
Still, we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves here. The recent developments are promising, but we’ve still got some things to sort out first.
How Safe Will Flying Cars Be?
While the recent development paves the way for a future where flying cars can be produced at a large capacity, it also sets the scene for better safety measures for air cars. We have all seen how fatal air accidents have been in the recent past, and thus, there are a lot of safety concerns that must be addressed before we finally have air cars in operation.
So, as exciting as the onset of air cars may be, there needs to be abundant caution they present different risk levels compared to the conventional road vehicles we are used to.
What About the Pricing?
Imagining yourself on an air car is pretty cool, but besides safety, there are still some burning questions that need answers. For example, will every Tom, Mary, and Harry be able to afford air cars? As is the case with most new inventions, we don’t expect it to be as cheap as walking into a car dealer and coming out with the car of your choice. That is unless you are crazy rich – which most of us are not.
The cost of owning a flying car aside, what about the price of hailing an air taxi? The chief example of this is Uber Elevate from cab giant Uber. There is a concept already in place by Uber, with its primary aim being to ease traffic congestion on the road. Uber Elevate head Eric Allison already gave a sense of the potential pricing in this futuristic industry, stating that Uber Elevate will cost $5.73 per passenger mile with the price expected to go down with time.
As such, when mass production of air cars starts, we can optimistically await a future where the prices won’t be too high. The federal aviation administrations and bodies like NASA will play an important role in the regulation of air cars. With that in mind, it again begs the question of whether these regulations may end up being too tight for the average citizen.
Flying Cars are Around the Corner
While it’s still too early to tell how things will turn out, there have been many developments with the concept of air cars. Many companies and venture capitalist firms are at the forefront of this evolution and are doing all they can to avoid being left out of a historic moment in time.
There’s no denying that a lot still needs to be done, but we are well on pace to air cars being a norm. So, it’s only a matter of time before our roads are less congested and our air traffic becomes slightly busier.