9 Flying Vehicles: An Overview Of “Flying Cars”

Have you ever dreamt of “driving” a flying car just like in Back to the Future? Well, this might happen in real life sooner than you ever expected. But, rather than flying cars, the technology that is being developed today looks more like human-sized drones.

We knew Amazon was developing delivery by drone, but what if you could go to the store in one of those petite flying vehicles? Some such vehicles are already being tested. That’s the case for the passenger drone Ehang 184, invented by the Chinese manufacturer Ehang, founded in 2014. Introduced at CES two thousand sixteen in Las Vegas as the future of individual transportation, the Ehang one hundred eighty four will be used as a taxi service in Dubaï as soon as this summer! The Ehang one hundred eighty four can carry passengers and their properties up to one hundred kg through the roofs of the desert state.

Will this innovation be the future of passenger transport? We can’t be sure. If this technology is available for all, cities will need to adapt their infrastructure and create certain rules and regulations.

The technology is so fresh that everything is still uncertain. But it’s never a bad thing to fantasy a little bit about what our future could look like, so we’ll present to you all of the options in this field that we’ve found and we’ll update this summary as soon as more passenger drones emerge in order to keep our overview up to date.

While Elon Musk has spoken about the titillating potential of VTOL electrical aircraft, Uber has already announced that the company will add 170-mph VTOL flying taxis to its on-demand transport mix. Larry Page, the CEO of Google’s parent company Alphabet, is also looking to the skies. He is involved in the startups Zee.Aero and Kitty Hawk, which are working on petite, all-electric planes that can take off and land vertically — a flying car.

But let’s leap into an overview of several petite flying vehicles. Feel free to provide us with feedback if we’ve missed some or if you have some thoughts on the topic! Have you seen the Ehang one hundred eighty four in LA? Are you going to attempt it in Dubaï? Write us about your thoughts and practices in the comments.

Ehang 184

After its presentation at CES two thousand sixteen and its experimental operation in Nevada, the “Autonomous Aerial Vehicle” (AAV) Ehang one hundred eighty four will commence carrying people this summer in Dubai. The one hundred eighty four was named for “one” passenger, “eight” propellers, and “four” arms.

The one hundred eighty four was designed to work with 100% green technology and is powered by electrical play only. In Dubai, the innovative one-person aircraft will reportedly have a maximum speed of one hundred sixty km/h (100 mph) and a maximum flying height of about Trio,500 meters (11,500 ft). Other key points:

• “Multiple backups” in place
• Four of the eight rotors can stop and the vehicle could be able to land securely
• Auto-landing will take place in case of trouble
• OnStar-like guideline center for fliers who need help

⊕ Company: Ehang (China)

⊕ Status: in production

⊕ Expected: commence taxi service in Dubai in summer 2017

⊕ Specs: cruising duration of twenty five minutes, speed up to one hundred sixty km/h

e-volo Volocopter VC 100, VC 200, VC 400

The world’s very first certified “multicopter,” e-volo’s Volocopter VC200, made its very first flight in April 2016. The Volocopter is a individual aerial vehicle designed to be so effortless and safe to fly that anyone can instruction it. E-Volo’s next aim is to produce the Volocopter in series. In a further developmental step, air taxi services are expected to be established.

⊕ Company: E-Volo (Germany)

⊕ Seats: 1, Two, and Four

⊕ Status: ready for production

⊕ Expected: series production within next two years

Lilium Jet

Lilium is an all-electric VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft created by a team of engineers from Munich’s Technical University. The company is backed by the European Space Agency. The petite aircraft is already at the scaled-down prototype stage, with a full-size prototype underway. Lilium aims to open its order book in 2018. Conceived to be elegant and quick, safe and pliable, this electrical flying car should be available in the market in 2018.

⊕ Company: Lilium Aviation (Germany)

⊕ Status: ready for production

⊕ Specs: Estimated cruising velocity of 250–300 km/h, Range of three hundred km

XTI TriFan 600

The TriFan six hundred is a VTOL aircraft concept launched by XTI Aircraft, a startup from Denver, USA. The 6-seater (Five passengers and one pilot) is designed to match the range and speed of existing puny business jets, with a cruising speed of six hundred thirty km/h and range of two thousand four hundred km. It can take off vertically or on a runway, like a conventional aircraft. XTI plans a full-scale proof-of-concept aircraft for 2020, and projects deliveries to begin inbetween 2024–2026.

⊕ Company: XTI Aircraft Company (USA)

⊕ Powertrain: gasoline engine

⊕ Status: active development & equity crowdfunding

⊕ Specs: Cruising speed of six hundred thirty km/h, Range of two thousand four hundred km

A³ Vahana

Airbus is also injecting the passenger-drones race and recently unveiled its design for an electrified and autonomous VTOL aircraft. The vehicle program is called “Vahana” and is being developed by Airbus subsidiary A³ (pronounced “A-cubed”). A-cubed aims to fly a full-size working prototype before the end of 2017, and to have a scalable production demonstrator by 2020.

⊕ Company: Airbus/A³ (USA)

⊕ Status: active development

Joby S2

The Joby S2 is another potentially game-changing aircraft that aims to improve the way society works, lives, plays, and travels. A 2-seat, fixed-wing, electrified aircraft, the S2 provides a quiet and reliable means of airborne transport. This environmentally friendly private airplane requires five times less energy than conventional auto transportation at five times the door-to-door speed. The S2 is in active development, and we’ll update you when specifications are available.

⊕ Company: Joby Aviation (USA)

⊕ Status: active development

⊕ Specs: Range of three hundred twenty km, speed up to three hundred twenty km/h

Terrafugia TF-X

According to the company Terrafugia, developing flying cars enables “a fresh dimension of private freedom.” Founded in 2006, Terrafugia’s vision for the future is the TF-X: a mass-market flying car with the potential to revolutionize the way we all get around. The TF-X is an all-electric vehicle with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities and computer-controlled flight.

⊕ Company: Terrafugia (USA)

⊕ Powertrain: gasoline engine

⊕ Status: active development

⊕ Specs: range of eight hundred km, speed up to three hundred twenty km/h

AeroMobil Trio.0

AeroMobil is a Slovakian company presently developing the AeroMobil Trio.0, a posh-looking 2-seater that fits into any standard parking space … but uses regular gasoline. The flying car can be used both in road traffic just like any other car and at any airport in the world as a plane, theoretically.

The AeroMobil Trio.0 can take off and land using any grass unclothe or paved surface with a distance of two football fields. After the completion of the final configuration, AeroMobil aims to set a manufacturing timeframe. The company expects to begin delivering the product in the next two or three years. The sales process will begin earlier.

⊕ Company: AeroMobil (Slovakia)

⊕ Powertrain: gas engine

⊕ Status: active development

Moller Skycar

Founded in one thousand nine hundred eighty three by Dr. Moller (a professor of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at the University of California), Moller International has been developing flying cars for more than thirty years. The company has developed the Skycar two hundred and the Skycar 400. The very first car is a lightweight, 2-passenger VTOL aircraft that can travel at one hundred ninety six km/h over seven hundred km. The Skycar four hundred is the 5th generation of VTOL aircraft developed by Dr. Paul Moller and is now in the “operational prototype” stage. The range for traveling at two hundred ten km/h is one thousand two hundred ninety five km.

⊕ Company: Moller International (USA)

⊕ Powertrain: hybrid electric-ethanol

⊕ Status: active development

⊕ Specs: Skycar 200: range of 700km at one hundred ninety six km/h; Skycar 400: range of one thousand two hundred ninety five km at two hundred ten km/h

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