“Flying Cars” — What are they, and why should I care?
In the last couple of years, companies have sprung up all around the world declaring that finally, you can now own that flying car you always wanted!
Everyone from tech startups to automotive manufacturers to aerospace giants have jumped on the (flying) bandwagon but most people are still confused about what a “flying car” actually is and what it will do. Will it drive on the ground as well as in the sky? Will it be autonomous or do I need a pilot’s licence? Will it pick up my shopping and deliver it to my front door or do I still need Amazon for that?
“It’s mobility Jim, but not as we know it!”
As it stands, so-called flying cars are intended to augment existing modes of transportation and will allow cities to create new routes through a paradigm known as Urban Aerial Mobility (“UAM”).
Fundamentally, the most basic benefit of UAM is to reduce ground-level traffic but there are so many more applications that can generate real public good! Air ambulances, high-rise fire and rescue and transportation of urgent medical supplies are just a handful of services that stand to gain from the development of Urban Aerial Mobility but in order to understand what flying cars really are and why they will be an important part of the future, let’s quickly look back at traditional aviation.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…right?
Broadly speaking, modern aircraft can be split into two categories; Aeroplanes and Helicopters. Aeroplanes (or “airplanes” if you’re unfortunate enough to speak American English) rely on forward-oriented engines to propel them forwards and a wing to give them lift.
Aeroplanes can be extremely efficient and can be designed to travel long distances at high speeds but ultimately, they require runways to take off and land which means that it is only possible to operate to and from areas with enough space i.e. not inside major cities!
Helicopters on the other hand, use whirling blades of death to lift themselves into the air and require no runways or other significant infrastructure to operate. This means that they could operate with ease inside built up areas and bring aviation into our cities. There is a catch though; helicopters by their very nature are extremely complex machines and require a significant amount of maintenance to operate safely. Even for small helicopters, it can require 30 hours of maintenance for every 100 hours of flight and often requires expensive spare parts to prevent death by fiery explosion.
As a result, helicopters are generally considered too expensive to operate on the same scale as aeroplanes and as a result, large-scale Urban Aerial Mobility has remained out of reach for all but the wealthiest.
Even if the cost of maintenance could somehow be reduced to reasonable levels though, helicopters are noisy and dangerous and have faced huge public opposition since the 1970’s when New York Airways experienced several fatal crashes and went bankrupt as a result.
In summary:
Aeroplanes
- Great aerodynamic efficiency for long distance journeys
- Unable to operate without a large runway
Helicopters
- Capable of operating from small landing pads, even from rooftops
- Too expensive for most people to use regularly
- Generally far too loud for take off and landing in urban areas
Result: large scale Urban Aerial Mobility remains firmly out of reach!
So now we know the problem. What’s the solution?
In one word: eVTOL
An eVTOL (pronounced ee-vee-tawl) is an electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft which basically does what it says on the tin and there are already many different types within this new class of vehicle. In general though, eVTOLs are able to make use of modern, battery-powered drone technology to take off vertically and carry passengers in much the same way as any helicopter would.
Crucially, because eVTOLs are intended to be as accessible as traditional automobiles, they have been labelled by the media as “Flying Cars”!
Please note: regardless of how much it may look like that present that you got last Christmas and immediately crashed into a tree, an aircraft designed to carry passengers is NOT a drone! So no matter the temptation to say the words “passenger drone”, don’t do it!
“So what? How does any of this get me any closer to my flying car?!”
Simply put, these aircraft are a fraction of the price to own and operate compared to a traditional helicopter! The core reason for this, is that the number of moving parts for an electrically driven motor is generally whittled down to one: the motor itself.
Excluding any complex hybrid systems, this means that the cost of maintenance, repair and replacement would plummet (maybe not an ideal choice of words for an aircraft?) and make Urban Aerial Mobility actually accessible to the general public!
But wait — there’s more!
In addition to cost reduction, electric vehicles can be designed to be much quieter and much safer than helicopters by adding guards around the propellers — something that just isn’t possible for large helicopter blades. So whilst we don’t expect flying cars to land on the roads any time soon, they will be able to take off and land near residential areas without creating too much noise.
In effect, flying cars will simply act in the same way that helicopters do (i.e. take off and land from dedicated landing pads) but with a fraction of the cost, severely reduced noise, zero emissions and massively improved safety! This means that mass-market Urban Aerial Mobility is much easier to implement and much more likely to become a permanent feature of 21st century life!
Furthermore, the ability to implement autonomy is far easier in an electric vehicle and at some point in the future, flying cars may pilot themselves at the touch of a button. However, most people agree that this is a long-term challenge and for the meantime, they will need qualified pilots to fly them.
So, in conclusion, the hype may actually be real and you may actually be able to purchase a flying car in the not-too-distant future but we are still at the beginning of a long journey and there are a huge number of challenges to overcome before you can finally hail an Air Taxi!
I hope this article has been useful and that you’re as inspired as we are but if you want to know more, please feel free to sign up for our newsletter at www.aviaryproject.com or get in touch directly at hello@aviaryproject.com!
