Flying cars: features, problems, developments. Is it possible to make a flying car? Are there flying cars?

Aeromobil promises to launch the first flying car. The two-seater was presented at the SXSW conference in Austin. Engineers say it can drive on a regular road and then transform and take off. She needs a small runway and regular fuel. We wrote in more detail about the functionality of the machine.

Aeromobil will initially be released in limited edition, stated CEO of the Slovak company Juraj Vaculik in an interview with CBC. It will cost “hundreds of thousands of US dollars.”

Previously, the creators stated that they wanted to promote the car in developing countries where there is no extensive transport infrastructure, as well as money for its creation. This was explained by the fact that Aeromobil can be refueled at any gas station, and the lack of roads or their poor quality is not a hindrance to the car. However, this model is aimed at wealthy buyers and aviation enthusiasts.

In addition to the flying car, the company also wants to launch an Uber-like ride-hailing service. A customer who wants to go to a city, say 4-5 hours away from home, can call a self-driving Aeromobil through the app. If there is free transport in the garage, then it will go to the customer and deliver him where he needs to go. The advantages here are obvious - flying is faster than driving, there is no chance of getting stuck in a traffic jam, as well as talkative drivers.

The reality of such a service still seems futuristic, but Vaculik is very confident in his team and project.

The timing for completing this idea is even more futuristic. In 2013, at a meeting of Congress in the United States, a specialist from Carnegie Mellon University said that people will have to drive cars themselves for another ten years: “Only somewhere in the 2020s will the car become completely autonomous system, which does not require human involvement."

Two years ago, a driverless car loomed somewhere in the distant future, and in two years Aeromobil wants to give the world a car that also flies. By the way, in Moscow traffic jams cannot be avoided in this way - flights are prohibited in the capital.

Ideas to combine an airplane and a car appeared even before World War II. Robert Fulton managed to do this in 1946. His invention, the Airphibian, became the world's first flying car to be certified by the US Civil Aviation Administration. The wings and tail section of this aircraft were removed, and the propeller was attached to the fuselage. Having a six-cylinder engine with a power of 150 horsepower, the car could fly at a speed of 200 km/h and drive at 80 km/h. The prototype was a success, but Fulton was unable to bring it to mass production - he could not find the money.

Aero-X hoverbike

In two years we can be pleased with Aerofex with your hoverbike (flying motorcycle). In the spring of 2014, the company announced the release of a commercial model for a price of about $85 thousand. It is capable of hovering above the ground at a maximum speed of 72 km/h and at a height of almost 3.7 meters above the ground, allowing it to carry two people. Aero-X is capable of operating for an hour and fifteen minutes on a full tank of gasoline.

Among other interesting developments in automotive area- car concept Thorium, capable of driving 100 years of refilling, as well as

In 1924, in the July issue of Popular Science magazine, famed American aviator Eddie Rickenbacker promised readers to expect “flying cars within the next 20 years.” Rickenbacker's flying machine would have 10-foot-long retractable wings, a swimmable hull, and wheels that would allow it to navigate the rapidly growing highway network of the United States.

"Flying" Citroen DS from the film "Fantômas is Raging", 1965. Photo: IMDb

93 years have passed, but cars have not learned to fly. Throughout this time, however, Rickenbacker's concept of the "airplane with wheels" defined our understanding of the flying car. This vision, cultivated for decades in popular culture and copied by engineers, has held back progress.

True, they will not drive on the roads - they will only fly and embody the best of technology autonomous control, designing drones and ride-sharing programs.

We will be able to see them in the skies very soon, perhaps even within the next ten years. Flying cars in the form in which we are accustomed to understand them have no future, while there are no hard limits for the development of passenger drones.

Simple part of the plan

If you were planning to cut through the air in your personal flying car, then these dreams are unlikely to come true. If every owner of such a vehicle had to fly 40 hours just to obtain a pilot's license, this would have no prospects. Passenger drones need to be autonomous, and this is easier than it seems.

The tricky part of the plan

Developers of passenger drones have come further than most people think. In June 2016, the Chinese company EHang received permission from the Nevada state authorities to test the world's first passenger drone. According to the Guardian, the drone is capable of rising to a height of 3,500 meters and moving at a speed of just over 100 km/h, but no longer than 23 minutes. Uber expects to launch its on-demand flight service Uber Elevate within ten years. Its vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicles are in many ways similar to drones from Lilium Aviation, which raised $10 million in Series A funding. Other manufacturers such as DJI, 3D Robotics, Hubsan and even Amazon could soon join the technology race. .

If we can give passenger drones room to develop, the way we think about personal transportation will completely change.These companies will face two main problems:

Charger. On at the moment The main obstacle to increasing flight duration is battery capacity. No one can guarantee a breakthrough in the field of creating batteries, so everyone is solving the problem on their own.

In-flight charging capability must be developed for passenger drones. The most notable progress here comes from Seattle-based startup LaserMotive, which is creating wireless charging technology. In 2012, the company, together with Lockheed Martin, conducted an experiment to increase the flight duration of the Stalker Unmanned Aerial System. Their “laser transmission” system helped keep the drone in the air for 48 hours by guiding laser beam into solar cells installed on the device. Thus, the increase in flight time was 2400%.

Another prototype of a passenger drone. Photo: Joby Aviation

Of course, the idea of ​​shooting a powerful laser into the sky raises some questions, but not if this infrastructure will minimize the number of accidents. Cities could designate space for drone flights and limit the use of lasers outside of it. An in-flight recharging system would significantly increase the duration and frequency of flights, since drones would be able to carry out their work continuously.

Legislation. Unfortunately, regulators are in no hurry to come up with full-fledged rules for the drone industry. In the US, the current version of the rules from August 2016 requires that the drone be in the field of view and under the constant control of the operator. Because of this, further development of the industry will be slowed down.

In some countries, all conditions have been created for the use of autonomous drones.

For example, the world's first network of fully autonomous drones with charging stations and rental points will be created in the Dutch city of Delft. In New Zealand, Flirtey and Domino's will launch the first commercial delivery service, since the country's laws do not prevent this. On November 16, pizza was delivered for the first time using a drone.

In the US, the situation could be improved by testing drones for emergency services. Unmanned vehicles can be used for search operations and in situations where human life is at stake. For example, in the event of cardiac arrest, assistance must be provided within six minutes to save a life. At the same time, the average wait time for an ambulance in New York in 2015 was 12 minutes. So why not take a risk to save a person who would otherwise die anyway?

Such tests, if positive, would help push the administration and speed up the adoption of the necessary laws.

In Russia

Despite the fact that recently in our country, it cannot be said that nothing is hindering work in this direction. We asked experts what legal restrictions are currently hindering the development of passenger drones in Russia.

It is not advisable to try to apply modern legislation to such passenger drones, since it is not adapted to such problems.

With development, the legislator will face the following problems:

• Determining the personality of a robot from the point of view of the legal system. Obviously, every robot will be involved in relationships with people. At least regarding participation in air traffic, interactions with other robots and people. And here a curious question arises - is it necessary to recognize him as equal to a person, create a fictitious personality, or qualify this apparatus as a mechanical thing with specific functions.
• It is clear that unmanned vehicles, both on the ground and in the air, will not be able to go into mass use until unified algorithms for the behavior of such vehicles in motion are determined.
• Well, probably the most obvious legislative limitation is the lack of rules for the mass use of airspace and ensuring the safety of people and the city from such flying machines. Current civil aviation regulations are not suitable for regulating the movement of thousands of drones at once.

Sergey Voronin,

Passenger drones are still a new technology, and therefore still require a lot of improvement. Such devices most often contain military technology, which also leaves its mark on their use. Among the possible restrictions in application, it is also worth noting that in order to control an aircraft, you must have a pilot’s license, and a valid one. This also applies to large-sized devices.

In addition, it will be necessary to determine the technical requirements for the landing and take-off places of such “taxi”, the duration of their stay in the air, and also to develop rules for the transportation of passengers taking into account the designs of the drones themselves.

The legislative problem is today the greatest obstacle to the effective development of the creation of drones - both ground and airborne. Including passenger ones.

On March 30, 2016, the updated Air Code came into force. IN new edition The Air Code uses, for example, the term “remote pilot”. At the same time, the new edition of Article 57 of the code states that “the commander of the aircraft<...>is a person who holds a valid pilot license (pilot, remote pilot) and the training and experience necessary to independently fly a specified type of aircraft.” It is the remote pilot who will have the rights of the aircraft commander. It turns out that both the drone and the passenger drone must be controlled by an external pilot with.

The main question for passenger drones is who is responsible for the accident involving unmanned vehicles. In the case of flying drones, the issue has not yet even been raised for consideration. It is relevant everywhere, including in our country. Who should be responsible for an accident involving a drone, especially a passenger one: the owner of the vehicle, or the company that developed the technology, or the drone manufacturer that manufactured and sold it? Legislators give a more or less consolidated answer.

The resolution document adopted following the results of the “round table” in the commission on information systems of the State Duma Committee on Science-Intensive Technologies in March 2016 clearly states: “Retain full responsibility for managing the BPTS with the driver (operator). This provision should be regulated by an additional paragraph in Art. 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation or an additional paragraph to this article, which will clearly translate this change.” And this is so far the only tangible guideline on this topic. It is expected that Article 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation will also apply to the operator of aerial drones.

We also foresee that will seriously curtail the development of the unmanned aerial vehicle industry aircraft anti-terrorism law. The technological portrait of terrorism is seriously changing during the development of unmanned systems. A flying drone with a bomb attached can be remotely directed into a crowd, and control of a passenger drone can be intercepted from a third-party computer... This prospect will be the main obstacle for now in developing the legislative framework.

Symbol of progress

Cinema, literature and television have already prepared us for the fact that engineers will eventually create accessible air transport. Although many still consider this to be just a fantasy from science fiction, in fact, this time may come very soon.

While we may not see the flying cars Eddie Rickenbacker promised us, we will actually get something better. Americans alone lose 6.9 billion hours each year to traffic jams. More importantly, unmanned drones in emergency services will help save thousands of lives. If we can give passenger drones room to develop, the way we think about personal transportation will completely change.

Robotization of cars has literally taken over the world. Experts predict that by 2030, fully computer-controlled cars will be on the road. A person will be able to drive his car if he wants, but there will no longer be such a need. So what about flying cars? There are shifts here too. So, Uber is going to develop its own vehicle by 2020.

Now this is not the only company that is engaged in such a project. But how realistic are these plans? Perhaps this is just marketing hype? For many of us, a flying car is synonymous with the future, like food tablets and silver clothes. So will the dreams of many about flying cars be realized?

What might this look like?

Science fiction writers and film directors of relevant genres often exploited the idea of ​​flying cars. In some works, this idea has been transformed into flying scooters when roads are not needed at all. Anakin Skywalker flew on one of these “scooters” in the movie “Attack of the Clones.”

It is clear that there are other concepts for such devices, including anti-gravity scooters. Now various companies are implementing the original idea of ​​a flying car, creating hybrids of a car and an airplane, a car and a helicopter, a car and a copter.

In general, any small aircraft can be called a flying car. But this is only a type of aircraft, not a car.

How safe is it?

But, of course, the security schemes here are different, they differ from what we are used to seeing in a car. For example, a car can be stopped in case of a problem. Well, this cannot be done with an aircraft - it will simply fall down. Moreover, an accident threatens the life and health of not only those inside the cabin, but also those below.

True, it is unclear how the parachute system works. After all, the aircraft does not have a parachute control system.

In conventional airplanes, most flight tasks are automated. They say that pilots are mainly responsible for takeoffs and landings, and even then not always. But on airplanes, security systems are duplicated many times over. There are a lot of them there. In a miniature aircraft this is out of the question.

On the other hand, miniature aircraft are less complex than business jets, so takeoff, flight and landing controls are simpler.

Now some companies have begun to promote the idea of ​​electric turbines. An example is the aircraft from Lilium, a relatively new startup. The introduction of electric motors and their replacement of conventional internal combustion engines leads to a simplification of the design of the device itself. It also becomes possible for the motors to duplicate each other - if one of them fails, the other takes over.

How fast and how far?

In addition, flying in a straight line is not at all the same as driving along a road with all its bends. Even if the vehicle does not fly too fast, the travel time is reduced several times.

Probably, if flying cars become widespread, the authorities will create something like air corridors along which it will move road transport. It can be assumed that such corridors will pass through safe areas where there are no or few people. So the accident will not cause significant consequences with human casualties.

And even in a big city, it will be possible to cover several tens of kilometers in a few minutes.

How easy is it?

For example, in three-dimensional space, when you can move not only left-right and forward-backward, but also up and down, the task of navigation becomes easier.

Even if there are many flying cars, a few hundred meters of altitude as a permitted corridor is quite enough to fly around neighbors. Plus, the authorities do not need to worry about creating transport infrastructure. No signs, no traffic lights, nothing. All that is needed is appropriate takeoff and landing pads, and some of them will be no different from modern helicopters, which are located on the roofs of skyscrapers.

Regulating the movement of vehicles of this type? Nothing could be simpler.

How much does it cost?

But we must not forget that a flying car is not a cheap pleasure. The same company Uber, which promises to release flying taxis by 2020, operates in many cases at a loss. The company tries to attract customers with low-cost travel. And it works. The profit is very small, but the company plans to compensate for this problem with the help of robotic taxis, which do not need to be paid like drivers. If the same experience is transferred to flying vehicles, then making a profit is a very real task.

Will passengers pay to reduce travel time from point A to point B? Most likely yes.

So when will this happen?

Most likely, when airplane-cars become more or less widespread, they will be used in a number of niches, not everywhere. And only over time their specialization will become more universal.

But this will not happen very soon. It's likely that many of us will be suiting up in silver suits and getting the latest nutritional product in pill form before flying cars become mainstream.

An article about flying cars - when they appeared, the most popular flying cars of our days. Why don't we still fly in our cars? At the end of the article - interesting video about flying cars of the future!

But people have another dream, which has not yet come true en masse. We are talking about flying cars. They can be seen in science fiction films, various prototypes appear periodically, but there is still no mass production. Why is this happening? What is the difficulty in creating flying cars? Will anyone be able to fly in their own car in the near future? Or is this dream destined to remain a dream? Let's find out!

Flying cars are almost a hundred years old

However, this car never managed to truly take off; it only bounced above the ground. Therefore, the project was abandoned.

But the very idea of ​​​​creating a flying car remained and was picked up by other inventors. Although sometimes the trials ended tragically.

In the 20s of the last century, Henry Ford himself became interested in the idea of ​​​​creating a flying car. He created a small flying car, the Flying Flivver, but during testing the car crashed along with the pilot, who was a close friend of Ford. Therefore, the auto designer abandoned his idea.

The first successful tests of a flying car were carried out in 1937. Designer Waldo Waterman created the Strelobil, which resembled a two-seater tricycle with wings. It could accelerate to 110 km/h on the ground and fly at a speed of 200 km/h. Moreover, the wings could be rented and attached to the car at airfields. Only six of these examples were produced, but then the Studebaker company, which financed the project, canceled it, citing huge costs.

In 1940, the Convair company developed a project for a flying car "ConvAirCar" (a two-door sedan to which an aircraft part was attached). During testing, this airmobile flew for an hour. The developer was already planning to sell the car, but the third flight became tragic, which buried the project.

In 1946, inventor R. Fulton created Aerofibia. Before him, all the designers tried to adapt the car to the sky, but he decided to adapt the plane to the road. The aircraft's wings were removable, and the propeller easily folded inside the fuselage.

Aerofibia is the world's first flying car to be certified by the United States Civil Aviation Administration. It would seem that this was a success, but Fulton was unable to bring his brainchild to mass production - he simply did not find enough funds.

In 1949, Malt Taylor created the Aerocar. It passed successful tests, but for various reasons never went into mass production.

After this, many inventors tried to create flying cars, but things did not go further than projects. Nobody decided to mass produce such cars.

Modern flying cars

Naturally, in the 21st century technology has made great strides forward. Therefore, it would seem that humanity should have already solved the problem of traffic jams and moved by air. However, this still remains a dream. The closest to realizing this dream are Slovakian company AeroMobil and Boston developer Terrafugia.

AeroMobil

AeroMobil is a flying car that can easily occupy a standard parking space, consumes regular gasoline and can drive on highways. At the same time this car can fly using any airport in the world. To take off, this car only needs 200 meters of flat road surface. 50 meters is enough for landing. If there is no track nearby, AeroMobil can land on any piece of land (as long as it is level). AeroMobil attracted the attention of NASA.

The company hopes that AeroMobil 3.0 will go into production. The skeleton of the flying car is made of composite materials and steel. The airmobile is stuffed with modern technology (autopilot, GPS navigation, rescue parachutes, system for night flights).

The transformation process from car to plane takes a maximum of 20 seconds. Now the development team is fixing all the problems that were identified during testing.

People with normal driver's license(for driving on the ground) and a sports or private pilot certificate.

The cost of such an aeromobile is not yet known, however, according to preliminary data, you will have to pay 300 thousand euros for the AeroMobil.

Aircraft TF-X

The four-seater TF-X does not need a runway as it takes off vertically. The wings can be folded, so the car can easily fit into a regular garage.

The hybrid is equipped with a 300-horsepower gasoline engine and two electric motors. A tunnel fan is installed in the tail, which provides air draft. Propellers are located on the wings.

The developers claim that the TF-X will be able to travel up to 1,000 kilometers by air in just three hours. At the same time, Terrafugia pays great attention to transportation safety. The developers believe that flying in their airmobile should be much safer than driving a regular car. The entire process of learning to drive a flying car will take only 5 hours.

The TF-X will have an autopilot, although the driver will be able to control the flight himself. It will also land automatically. In case an engine failure occurs, the developers created a huge parachute that allows the car to land safely.

TF-X will appear in mass production no earlier than 2025. The cost of such an airmobile has not yet been disclosed. But, according to Terrafugia employees, the TF-X will cost no less than a modern supercar.

AeroMobil and TF-X are two of the most realistic flying car projects that could see the light of day in the near future.

It should be noted that this is not a project of the Internet giant. Larry Page is financing it himself. Moreover, he stated that the results will be presented in the near future.

Why don't people still fly in their cars?

Optimists from development companies assure that soon anyone will be able to purchase an airmobile. However, many experts are convinced that people will never be able to fly in cars en masse. And they give quite competent arguments.

There are many complex technological, design and legal issues that need to be addressed for the widespread adoption of air vehicles. We are talking about the cost of such cars, flight routes, the process of regulating flights, safety, and fuel consumption. Also, do not forget about the possibility of terrorists using air cars, training of air drivers, parking difficulties, noise levels, and interaction with standard cars. So far, no prototype allows a person to move easily. But this is exactly why it is created.

By and large, there are two main reasons why a person does not see flying cars above his head. These are economics and security. And now in more detail.

A flying car is a hybrid of a car and an airplane. It is desirable that it take off and land vertically, since there are no landing strips in ordinary cities. No one will build them on purpose. If such stripes existed, it would be easier for people to use ultralight aircraft.

Of course, you can use an aircar in the city as a car, but outside settlement, where there are runways like an airplane. However, in this case, it is easier to keep a full-fledged small plane at the airfield, and get to it by a regular car. It is not profitable to carry wings in the city, but tires in the sky. Therefore, the only reasonable option is a car that takes off vertically.

For half a century, there have been vertical take-off aircraft (VTOLs) that can take off and land on small areas of the surface. Success was predicted for such aircraft, but their operation revealed serious shortcomings.

In a word, it turned out to be unsafe and expensive. Therefore, the idea of ​​creating a VTOL aircraft was abandoned.

Failure with such aircraft actually puts an end to airmobiles, since serious shortcomings remain:

• The huge fuel consumption during takeoff and landing makes the entire flight uneconomical. Especially if you need to fly nearby.
• If an engine fails in the air or a collision occurs, not only the pilots will suffer, but also the people and buildings below.
• Training an aircar pilot is an expensive and time-consuming process, as modern cities have many obstacles.
• Megacities do not have suitable infrastructure for air vehicles, and rebuilding megacities is very expensive.
• Construction and repair of highways is a billion-dollar business. If all cars fly, businessmen will lose profit. It is unlikely that global companies involved in the construction and repair of roads will allow flying cars to become a mass phenomenon.

Thus, economic and security issues clearly indicate that humanity should not expect mass flying cars in the near future.

A person needs to dream. Without this, he will cease to be human. Flying cars are still just a dream, although everyone would probably like to fly over the city at least once in their personal car!

Flying cars of the future - in an entertaining video: