Flying Car
About 60 to 70 years ago, when people imagined how would the 2022 look, they imagined futuristic looking cities. They imagined hoverboards, flying cars in the sky, and flying cars would have become a reality. But unfortunately, it didn’t happen. The reality of today is very far behind that imagination
But flying cars are something that is slowly becoming a reality. A company in Slovakia has successfully tested an actual flying car this year in 2022. Now, this is not the dream for the future. This is a reality now.
Evolutions in the Flying Cars
Let’s talk about technology in this blog.
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1917
Listening to it looks like that flying car is futuristic. But people started to make one about 100 years ago. The year 1917 is the year when it was first attempt to build a flying car or perhaps a roadable aeroplane (an aeroplane that can navigate to the road too).
It was named an Autoplane. This was built by Glenn Curtiss. It was given the title Limousine of the Air. But was this flying car able to fly? It is said that when they tried to test flight, it lifted off the ground but unfortunately it couldn’t fly properly. So the Autoplane become the failure.
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1933
After this we get to 1933, when the US Air Commerce Bureau conducted a competition, called the Fliwer Competition, They challenged people to design an aeroplane that would cost less than 700$ to build. Many models were submitted in this competition, and one of these models was the Aerobile designed by Waldo Waterman, that was the aeroplane that looked like a car and could take flight. But never went to the production, because they were going through the Great Depression. The funds were not enough to produce it.
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1945
But what would be called the first successful attempt took place in 1945. Airphibian, an aeroplane, built by an American inventor, Robert Edison Fulton. It looked like a proper aeroplane. Its front could be detached (the only differnece). It took almost 5 minutes to convert that aeroplane into a car.
Likewise other tries have been taken in further years.
Jetson 1 by Jetson Aero
In October 2021, a Swedish company called the Jetson Aero, presented the Jetson1 aeroplane to the world. It does not look like a car at all, rather it can be called an extra-large drone because it flies just like a drone. A single person sits inside it. The person is able to pilot it around. It is a single seat vehicle. In 2017, they have started working on it. The first prototype was ready in 2018.
And it had its first successful flight too. But they introduced their company and presented their second generation prototype to the world in October 2021. A helicopter needs a helipad to land but it is too small that it can land on your roof. And can take off from your neighbour’s garden as well.
To keep it light weight, it is made of aluminium and it weighs only 86 kgs. And the person in it can weigh up to 95 kgs. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that you wouldn’t need a pilot’s licence to fly it. Because according to US Laws. There is no need for a pilot’s licence for a home built single seater aircraft.
Jetson 1 is really futuristic but it can’t be used much practically. Because you can’t fly it at night, in traffic. So, this Jetson 1 can also not be said to be a proper flying car.
The First Ever Aircar
But another company in Slovakia presented their Aircar to the world at the beginning of the year 2022. It is the First Flying Car in true sense. This car completed its first Intercity flight in the June previous year from the international airport Nitra to the Bratislava airport. They got their clearance for take-off in the beginning of 2022 from the Transport Authority of Slovakia. It received the certificate of Airworthiness. The European Aviation Agency’s all testing safety standards are obeyed by this flying car. This is the first flying car to actually look like a flying car. A BMW car is used as a base and the wings are attached to it.