Dear Mr Khaw, time to think about flying cars!

Khaw Boon Wan (image – CNA) – Will he allow flying cars?

With a new Transport Minister at the helm, there is no better time than the present to think out of the box and throw him ideas on what Singapore's transport landscape could be in the years ahead.

So, how about flying cars?

The "small, privately held American corporation" called Terrafugia says it has been developing exactly such a vehicle and that it would be available in the not too distant future. The company gave a timeline of 8 to 12 years for the reality to be tangible.

"Terrafugia was founded by graduates of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduates of the MIT Sloan School of Management," according to Wikipedia.

And the company has released a video of what the car – the TF-X – would look like and how it can actually operate – that is, to be driven like an ordinary car and to fly when it is required to.

"While our ability to communicate and access information is increasing dramatically, personal transportation has not improved significantly in the past 50 years," Terrafugia says on its website."If anything, travel today is more of a hassle."

Well, every Singaporean can attest to that fact! Public transport has been the bane of many the last decade or so, and Mr Khaw is hoping he would not become the latest minister in charge to be put to the sword, or worse, to be asked to commit hara kiri himself!

"While the airlines have an impressive safety record, commercial air travel is far from convenient," Terrafugia says. "Cars let you set your own schedule, but they're slow and dangerous: the average commuter spends nearly five hours a week stuck in traffic, and globally, more than one million people die in car crashes each year."

So what do we need by way of personal public transport?

"We need the safety of commercial aviation, the convenience and flexibility of a car, and the freedom of the open sky."

In other words, we need nothing less than a flying car!

But here's the beauty of it – you don't have to fly it.

It flies itself.

Watch this video and see what Terrafugia has been working on:

It is not all going to be smooth-sailing, of course, especially if it comes to Singapore – imagine all those cars airborne and trying to find their way around on this tiny island, and what with all those conventional planes above us bringing in the millions of tourists every year!

But you can be sure that it is only a matter of time before everyone wants a flying car.

And so, Mr Khaw (and his successor) better get cracking on how Singapore is going to be able to allow this latest advancement of science and technology!

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Source: Dear Mr Khaw, time to think about flying cars!