TE
TechEcho
Home24h TopNewestBestAskShowJobs
GitHubTwitter
Home

TechEcho

A tech news platform built with Next.js, providing global tech news and discussions.

GitHubTwitter

Home

HomeNewestBestAskShowJobs

Resources

HackerNews APIOriginal HackerNewsNext.js

© 2025 TechEcho. All rights reserved.

Flying car prototype ready by end of 2017, says Airbus CEO

6 pointsby jaboutboulover 8 years ago

1 comment

FabHKover 8 years ago
To misappropriate what Stephan Zweig is said to have said about Brazil:<p>Flying cars are the transport of the future, and always will be.<p>Nitpicks:<p>1. Ready for a demo flight, maybe. To get it in production takes ages in aviation: The amphibious ICON (iCon?) A5 was first flown in 2008, the first production aircraft was out in 2014, but customers have not yet received any actual deliveries [1].<p>2. Flying cars? Very few of these new concept aircraft are actually <i>cars</i>, i.e. designed for extended time on the road. (Exception maybe the Terrafugia Transition: first flown in 2009, deliveries expected &quot;between 2015 and 2016&quot; according to Wikipedia [2].).<p>Not sure what&#x27;s a good name for these new ones, maybe VSVA (very small VTOL aircraft) or EPA (electric personal aircraft) or something.<p>Ehang [3] and Volocopter [4] are testing multicopters (&quot;drones&quot;) already, for 1 and 2 pax, respectively. Personally, I don&#x27;t like the low rotors of the Ehang - looks like a recipe for disaster to me. Lilium looks interesting, too [5]. I hope some of them materialise soon at reasonable prices -- though we might need some more breakthroughs in battery technology.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;ICON_A5" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;ICON_A5</a><p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Terrafugia" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Terrafugia</a><p>[3] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ehang.com&#x2F;ehang184" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ehang.com&#x2F;ehang184</a><p>[4] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.volocopter.com&#x2F;index.php&#x2F;en&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.volocopter.com&#x2F;index.php&#x2F;en&#x2F;</a><p>[5] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;lilium-aviation.com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;lilium-aviation.com&#x2F;</a>