Fascination with flying cars remains as pop culture deadlines expire

There have been many impressive technological advances in the past 30 years, from the development of the Internet to the proliferation of mobile phones. As useful as these advances have been, people still strive for more. The lament you often hear as we reach the years set in certain science fiction stories is, "Where are the flying cars?"

One such milestone occurred recently on October 21, 2015. In the film "Back to the Future Part II," Marty McFly and Doc Brown travel to this date from 1985 and arrive in a world of hoverboards, self-lacing sneakers, and fusion-powered flying vehicles.

It wasn't the first time aerial vehicles appeared in pop culture. Popular Mechanics suggests that the first reference to a flying vehicle occurred in 1904, when Jules Verne's novel "Master of the World" described a vehicle that could transition between a car, boat, and plane. Flying—and foldable—vehicles were the norm in "The Jetsons," a cartoon set in 2062. And the 1982 film "Bla de Runner" portrayed a world where flying cars were common in the year 2019.

These portrayals tend to be more fanciful than serious. Bob Gale, the screenwriter for "Back to the Future," even admitted, "We knew we weren't going to have flying cars by the year 2015, but God we had to have those in our movie."

Perhaps flying vehicles will not become the ubiquitous mode of travel portrayed in science fiction. However, several prototypes have been developed and tested over the years. And some companies continue to pursue this technology, suggesting that the first models may be available for public purchase within a few years.

The past

In 1940, Henry Ford declared, "Mark my word: A combination airplane and motorcar is coming. You may smile, but it will come."

In fact, some designers had already taken a stab at making this vision a reality by the time Ford uttered this statement. The Model 11 Autoplane, designed by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss, debuted at th e Pan-American Aeronautic Exhibition. The Autoplane essentially combined a limousine vehicle design with wings and had a speed range of about 45 to 65 miles per hour. According to Popular Mechanics, there is no record that it every actually took flight.

The Tampier Roadable was more successful. This contraption operated as a biplane while in flight, but it could also add an extra set of wheels for stability and fold up its wings for navigation on the road. The Roadable landed at the Paris Air Salon in 1921, then drove through the streets for more than two hours.

An even more bizarre design, the ConvAirCar, modified a two-door sedan with removable wings and a propeller. The ConvAirCar crashed on a 1947 test flight after the pilot mistook the vehicle's fuel gauge for the aircraft's gauge and took off with almost no fuel on board. The project was soon canceled.

According to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the first flying car—also known as a roadable aircraft—to receive approval from federal aviation authorities was the Airphibian, designed by Robert Fulton Jr. It allowed the pilot to remove the wings, tail, and propeller to drive the fuselage as a vehicle. Charles Lindbergh flew an Airphibian in 1950, but the design was never marketed due to financial difficulties and problems in compromising the vehicle and airplane designs.

A mechanic named Leland Bryan developed a vehicle that could be flown as an airplane at speeds up to 95 miles per hour and driven on the ground at up to 60 miles per hour. He made several successful flights in the 1950s and even got permission from the Civil Aeronautics Authority to fly within 25 miles of his home.

Unfortunately, Bryan was killed while demonstrating this roadable aircraft at a 1974 air show. One year earlier, the inventor Henry Smolinski and pilot Harold Blake had been killed while testing a model that combined a Ford Pinto with a Cessna Skymaster.

The military also got into the flying vehicle game, awarding a contract for a "flying jeep" to Piasecki Aircraft in 1957. The Airgeep, as it came to be called, was developed to include vertical takeoff and landing capability and intended to deliver nuclear weapons. The Army eventually abandoned the idea, opting to improve its helicopter designs instead.

Challenges

Anyone looking to develop a flying vehicle faces some major challenges with the design. Stuart F. Brown, writing for the New York Times, says the designs of vehicles and airplanes are inherently different. As such, flying vehicle designs usually make compromises on both ends and result in a model which is lackluster both on the ground and in the air.

The engine must be powerful enough for both flight and driving, but heavier weight will also result in a longer wingspan. The wings themselves will prove a nuisance on narrow streets, so they might have to be designed to fold up while on the road. However, this also carries the r isk of reducing the vehicle's structural integrity in the air.

Since the vehicle is capable of flight, any design must be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. Its ability to drive on the street means it must go through the regulation process set by the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration as well.

Rachel Feltman, writing for Popular Mechanics, says one option would be to incorporate magnetic levitation into vehicle designs as well as roads. This type of travel has the potential to be very energy efficient, but it would also require a major investment in infrastructure. The vehicles would also not be the flying cars envisioned in science fiction; they would hover only a few inches off the ground.

Any vehicles flying at a higher height, however, could be a nightmarish scenario for air traffic controllers. The task of safely guiding a plethora of vehicles through the sky would be exceptionally difficul t.

Drivers would have to learn how to safely navigate in three dimensions. Driver misbehavior, such as driving under the influence or distracted driving, could have disastrous consequences. Collisions or breakdowns could result in vehicles or debris crashing to the ground and wreaking havoc on the streets and structures below.

The improvements appearing on modern vehicles could help reduce these risks, though. Anti-collision technology, autonomous systems, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication all have the potential to improve aerial navigation.

The future

Some companies have developed sleek new prototypes for flying vehicles and suggest that they may be available for public purchase within a few years. You'll just have to be prepared to pay a hefty price for these early models.

Aeromobil, a company based in Slovakia, has been working on a flying vehicle since 1990. The latest model, Aeromobil 3.0, is a two-seat roadable aircraft built from advanced comp osite materials. In flight, the design includes an autopilot and parachute deployment system.

The company says the price will not be finalized until the prototype is finalized, but expects that it will cost several hundred thousand dollars. Aeromobil hopes that it can start taking preliminary orders in 2016. It also recommends that anyone buying the vehicle get a private pilot's license or sport pilot's license.

Moller International, a company based in Davis, California, has been working on several designs with vertical takeoff and landing capability. The M400 Skycar prototype includes four engines, emergency parachutes, an operational ceiling of 36,000 feet, and a projected top speed of 350 miles per hour.

The company says it has been working on flying vehicle designs since the 1960s. It anticipates that limited numbers of the M400 will be available within three years, while an FAA-certified model will take more than four years. Moller International says the initi al purchase price will be about $500,000, but expects that it will drop to between $60,000 and $80,000 as production increases.

Terrafugia, a company based in Woburn, Massachusetts, has also been developing prototypes of flying vehicles. Its Transition model gets 35 miles to the gallon on the ground and has a 400-mile range.

Since the wings can fold up, Terrafugia says it is possible to store the vehicle in a standard garage. The first six models have already been reserved at a cost of $299,000 each, and subsequent pricing will be determined based on production costs.

Terrafugia is also working on a model called the TF-X, but doesn't expect that it will be produced for another eight to 12 years. The company says the goal for this model is to create a four-seat plug-in hybrid roadable aircraft with a range of 500 miles, vertical takeoff and landing capability, and a price comparable to that of a luxury vehicle.

Source: Fascination with flying cars remains as pop culture deadlines expire