Do flying cars really have a place in the future of transportation?

Flying cars have always been part of our vision for the future of transportation; But will flying cars really have a role in the future?

The electrification of cars is currently the most prominent prospect that the automobile industry is facing. However, lesser-known companies are also leading the way in the development of flying machines and have even achieved valuable results. A clear example is the American company Alef Aeronautics, which recently received an official flight permit for its Model A flying car from the US Federal Aviation Organization, or FAA; It was actually the first flying car to be officially licensed in America. However, as these new modes of transportation are developed, the question must be asked whether they will ultimately go anywhere.

flying cars; The future of transportation or the new entertainment of the rich?

Model A flying car produced by Alef Aeronautics

The flying car is an exciting idea that humans have been thinking about for a long time. In fact, in many science fiction works, the flying machine is depicted as one of the elements of the future world of humans. However, the reality of the matter is, at least for now, different from ambitions, and electric vertical-flying aircraft (eVTOLs), colloquially called flying machines, are still a long way from reaching maturity. Before this, however, it is better to ask whether the development of flying cars is justified for the future of transportation or not?

At first glance, there are several prevailing notions about flying cars that are far from reality; For example, the driver can get off the road whenever he wants and fly in the sky to get rid of the rushing traffic, or he has the ability to move at an extremely high speed to reach the destination as quickly as possible. Despite this, flying machines in reality face serious limitations that make even production and investment for them seem irrational.

Aircar flying car produced by Klein Vision

One of these limitations is that the landing of the flying car on the road is a high risk and its management is challenging. As a result, it will probably never be possible for a flying car to take off from the road surface into the sky whenever the driver wants it, and then easily land back on the road again. Perhaps the solution to this problem is to consider specific areas for flying machines, which is not a very good idea. In addition, contrary to popular belief, many flying cars do not have wheels, which effectively eliminates the idea of ​​taking off from the road and landing on it again.

Flying cars, although they get the person to their destination faster, have a high energy consumption and therefore a lower radius of movement than a normal car; Especially when most of the new models are fully electric. Therefore, the range of electric flying machines is mainly between 96 and 161 km. In fact, flying requires more energy than driving on the road; In order to have a better view, it should be mentioned that the model A flying car of A company can travel 177 km in the sky with one charge, but its range of motion on the road reaches 322 km.

Taylor Aircar flying car, built in the late 1940s

The issue of the efficiency of electric propulsion is true not only for flying cars, but also for normal cars. For example, a giant electric car like the Hummer EV struggles with the problem of high energy consumption; Just like its gasoline version, it also faced such a problem. Some even argue that the unplanned development of electric vehicles ahead of time will only weaken the infrastructure. Therefore, the limitations of electrical power also affect flying machines.

Even limited passengers, usually no more than 2 people, can only fit in flying cars. Most of these cars have a small space, usually only one driver and one other passenger can sit in it. This is another limitation that makes the operation of flying machines in the real world uncertain.

With all these interpretations, it can be concluded that flying cars are expensive, require a lot of resources both for production and consumption, and also have a limited capacity. Now, with such conditions, can flying cars have a place in the future of urban transportation, or will they be just a special means for a limited class? Gadget News users, continue to share your opinion about this.