In honor of Marty McFly’s trip Back to the Future or what is better known as October 21st, 2015 
approaching, I thought it would be fitting to talk about the long awaited and still not here, flying car! Flying cars are that of myth and legend so far as we have yet to see more than prototypes and 3-D videos of possible models, but science and manufactures are quickly approaching a design that could revolutionize the future as Back to the Future II predicted so long ago.
The first attempt at a flying car was in 1917 by a man named Glenn Curtiss, though the “Autoplane” failed to actually fly, Curtiss seemed to be on the right track. He built the body of the Autoplane out of aluminum hoping to make it lighter as it was wafting through the sky and used a 100 horsepower engine, enough in theory to lift the car into the sky.
Curtiss Autoplane
Two of the newest models of flying cars though seem to be making headway in the oh so viable business. Skycar the latest design by Moller International, a company specializing in the development of flying cars, was set to operate on any fuel source as the engine was specialized for such use. The same engine, the Rotapower engine also was set to achieve 102 horsepower maximizing 3 horsepower per pound. They were on the right track, as their design worked until the Rotapower engines never were produced.
Moller Skycar
The other model gaining a lot of hype is the AeroMobil invented by Štefan Klein and Juraj Vaculík. The science behind this design relies on lightweight material and horsepower. The body of the machine is made up of a “carbon-composite body over a steel airframe with six-pound carbon wheels, keep weight low.” (PopSci) The engine is 100 horsepower four-cylinder and runs on gasoline for the convince of owners. The design has undergone 40 tests flights but is still undergoing structural and aerodynamic tests to help solidify the design.
AeroMobil
I know I have just spat out a lot of facts without little commentary on them so far, but that was saved until the end for a reason, to tie thoughts together and also for my proposal of ideas (mixed with some confusion I still have). One thing that came to mind while researching this topic was about Planes in general, we’ve been able to construct planes that work flawlessly, so in my mind I don’t see why it is so difficult to construct another plane, that steers on the ground as well. What I’ve taken away from researching this is that my simple mindedness does not stand to the laws of science as construction of flying cars is much more difficult than slapping wheels on a downsides plane and calling it a car. I believe that companies are trying to find a way to make these inventions safe and affordable for the average consumer. While building a plane with wheels and calling it a car is simple enough, if it isn’t affordable and we’ll built that business isn’t going to go anyway. The flying car has been a dream of many as we can see since Curtiss’s attempt back in 1917, but it’s taken nearly a century before we’ve gotten to a point where we almost have a product, which to me with the advancements in science and technology is very confusing.
So as October 21, 2015 approaches and Marty McFly makes his way into our world, he will sadly not be seeing any flying cars buzzing through the sky, or hover-boards…but that’s another blog for another day. Until next time…”If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.”
One other aspect I thought of while reading this blog was how these flying cars would change the road system, not just in our country but around the world. The wingspan of the flying cars in the images above seem like they would overtake multiple lanes on the average roadway, and may even cause damage to buildings or people on tighter roadways. There would need to be heavy consideration put into reworking or constructing new roads just for these flying cars. Love the Back to the Future stuff by the way!
I wish flying cars were similar to jets, but sadly they aren’t the same. Flying cars will have the option of driving on land as we know of regular cars with the option to fly. I don’t believe that flying cars will have the ability to fly long distances as that may put airlines out of business, and they probably won’t have the ability to fly higher than a few hundred feet. I also wonder about the pilot school, maybe it would be just like another part of driving school that everyone already takes, like I know in CT we have to take an 8 hour drug and alcohol class so I’d imagine a flight would just be added in. As for the purpose of flying cars…convince and because they’re cool…
Another possible negative implication of “flying cars” shown in the pictures is difficulty with takeoff and landing. Unless the flying car takes off and lands like a helicopter, the vehicle would have to land on some sort of landing strip, which not everyone has a suitable driveway for. It also is difficult to see an average joe learning how to fly a vehicle like this and successfully drive it several times a day. But who knows, people may have thought the same thing about cars at one time.
are flying cars not similar to what we know as jets? Like what is so special about a flying car? Is it not just a mini airplane ? What would be the significants of having a flying car , wouldn’t you have to go to the schools that pilots go to , to learn how to fly the thing? I mean it’s an interesting idea but I feel like jets/ airplanes.. Would it just not rise as high in the sky? I’m confused as to what would be their purpose?