Future Mobility

In your impression, how is the flying car? Many people imagine flying cars as vehicles that exist only in science-fiction blockbusters, highly technological cities, and shuttle-like traffic in the sky.

This is a fantasy flying machine that carries humankind’s desire to fly freely. Airplanes helped humans soar in the sky, and rockets can send humans to the universe, but they are not yet free daily travel tools. Flying cars can be said to carry this dream of humankind.

Early history

From fantasy to prototypes

Flying Cars Are Not a New Idea

Flying car concept image

The flying car is not a new idea. As early as 1937, humankind had built the first flying car, and this flying car could successfully take off. At that time, because the plane had just been introduced, this new flying machine unfortunately died out.

Many predecessors continued to explore the flying car. Until 1986, the American Taylor invented a flying car and received a government flight license, marking the official acceptance of the flying car market.

Flying car development image

However, in an era when car ownership was not yet so high, people were not as enthusiastic about flying cars. The flying car itself also had high safety risks, so we still do not see flying cars in daily life.

Until the 21st century, the human living environment became more urbanized, the per capita ownership rate of cars grew rapidly, and congestion in ground traffic pushed major car suppliers and technology companies to focus on flying cars again.

Urban flying car concept image
Toyota SkyDrive

Public test flight

Why SkyDrive Drew Attention

Recently, the world’s leading car manufacturer Toyota announced that the flying car developed by their company had successfully flown and would be put into mass production in 2023. It was described as the first flying car announced to be put into mass production.

This stirred up the technology and automobile manufacturing industry and made people feel that flying cars may not be far away from our lives. In the next decade, it may hopefully become a part of life.

SkyDrive flying car test image

Although the flying car named SkyDrive kept only 10 minutes in the public test flight record, it achieved the flexibility an ordinary car would expect from a flying vehicle, such as vertical takeoff and landing, steering, air hovering, and other operations.

Toyota said they were confident that the flight time of the flying car would be increased to 30 minutes in 2023.

Market examples

Companies and prototypes

Flying Car Efforts Around the World

In fact, Europe and the United States started earlier in the research and development of flying cars. Major car manufacturers and technology companies have entered the game and begun their own research and development.

Some flying cars were even open for market booking. For example, the Netherlands PAL-V company developed a flying car and opened customer booking as early as 2017. As early as 2018, someone got the keys to a flying car, and its selling price starts at $400,000.

However, the flying car still does not seem to be strictly a flying car in public video material, but more like a foldable helicopter. It still needs a boost to take off, and its shape and wings draw on the design of a small helicopter.

Also already on sale is the Slovakian company’s AeroMobil flying car, which claimed to accept customer reservations back in 2014. But the design and flight principles still have not gotten rid of the small aircraft prototype, and market acceptance is still not high.

A Canadian start-up company developed a flying car called BlackFly and obtained a license to use it in the United States, claiming that it is a flying car without a driver’s license and is very easy to get started. But judging from its large wing shape, this is still more like a highly energy-efficient flying machine than a flying car.

Airbus, one of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers, has developed a number of flying cars, including a modular flying car developed with Audi. A modular flying car separates the vehicle from the car, and looks like the operation of a large drone seeding.

China market

Geely and eHANG

China Is Also in the Flying Car Industry

As the future blue ocean market, China is also not absent from this industry. As early as 2017, Geely Automobile entered the field of flying car manufacturing through the acquisition of a famous U.S. flying car developer.

In contrast, the flying car developed by Geely Automobile is closer to people’s fantasy of flying cars. Geely’s flying car was said to have produced its first batch in volume this year, priced at $2 million, and the first batch would be available in the United States.

But so far, this flying car is still classified as a small helicopter. If you want to drive a Geely flying car, you still need a flight license.

As internationally renowned as Geely’s flying cars, there is also China’s eHANG flying car. This well-known Chinese drone manufacturer signed a contract with Dubai back in 2017 and put it on trial in Dubai.

eHANG’s unmanned cars allegedly only need to input their destinations, and the cars will drive themselves to carry guests to their destinations. Dubai will reportedly purchase eHANG’s cars as part of the city’s transportation to ease traffic pressure, but the time to actually put them into use has been repeatedly delayed.

Real-world question

What counts as a flying car?

What Makes a Flying Car Practical?

Returning to Japan’s SkyDrive, many flying cars have been claimed to be on the market, but this one with a flight time of only 10 minutes received so much attention because it makes us think carefully about what a flying car is.

If only a small aircraft principle flying machine can be called a flying car, then many manufacturers can make such a flying machine. But a real flying car needs to solve how to hover and land, whether it will affect ground traffic when driving on the ground, and whether it needs to run and spread wings on a normal traffic route when taking off.

If it occupies too much space, it cannot replace the car and become a daily travel supply. That is what makes SkyDrive’s 10 minutes so amazing.

Anyway, dreams are still necessary. Since the Wright brothers invented the first airplane, the dream of human beings to fly freely is destined to come true. The day when flying cars become a common family car may not be too far away. Kudos to these companies who dare to try.

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