Will flying cars change the way we travel? A decade ago, the question would draw more concern for the mental stability of the asker than concern for the general stability of the skies. It’s hard enough for the denizens of several urban epicenters to adjust to the reality of driverless taxis, now seen stopped at red lights and at waiting spots on city streets as brave souls climb into a vehicle that has no one at the wheel.
But when Elon Musk hinted there might be a flying Tesla soon, the internet started buzzing with flying car news. And now people are talking.
“There’s absolutely a sense that the time has come,” says aviation industry investment banker Joey Smith at Cassel Salpeter & Co. “Numerous well-funded companies are racing to build a viable production vehicle, and they could take to the skies as early as next year.”
What’s more, attitudes toward Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) — a fancy term for flying cars and other personal flying vehicles — have shifted. A new study suggests Americans, and particularly younger urban consumers, are warming to the idea of flying to their next destination. Even so, the definition of a flying car is a little hard to pin down.
The new landscape of low flyers will not resemble a sci-fi movie like Minority Report. Rather, it will be a slow rollout. But do expect it to change the way we travel as dramatically as the introduction of the jet engine.
Flying Cars: What are They?
Personal flying vehicles defy simple classification, which may be part of their allure. There are STOLs and VTOLs, quadcopters, octocopters and hexacopters. Some are electric, some are gas-powered. It’s also ok just to call them flying cars.
Right now, the models generating the most noise are electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs). These aircraft take off and land like a helicopter. For example, Joby’s air taxi service in Manhattan plans to use its eVTOL, which looks like an oversized drone, to shuttle passengers from New York to JFK Airport next year.
In essence, there are really just two types of flying cars. The first are cars that can drive on the road and fly, perhaps like scenes in Back to the Future.
One of the most high-profile of these is the Model A being developed by Alef Aeronautics. It’s an eVTOL that looks like a sports car. But once it takes off, the passenger cabin pivots and the vehicle flies sideways, which looks a little jarring but very cool.
The second type of flying vehicle doesn’t even bother with the road. For example, the Lilium Jet is both a fixed-wing aircraft and an eVTOL. It won’t be seen it on the highway unless it’s making an emergency landing — so technically, it’s not a flying car.
And now that there are serious discussions about flying cars, and developers have started taking orders, the future is not far.
Flying Cars: Wheels Up?
A few things still have to be worked out, say experts. For example, eVTOL manufacturers have struggled with several challenges. It’s not just how to design lightweight aircraft made from the right composite materials and with adequate battery life. It’s also piloting the flying car. Issues such as autonomous flight capability and pilot training have proven to be big barriers.
There are also regulatory roadblocks. The Federal Aviation Administration, which has oversight of these new vehicles, has adopted a “crawl-walk-run” approach. And it’s still in “crawl” mode. Last year, it laid down some rules for flying cars. Among them: They have to use existing heliports and they must have a human pilot. But there are no special traffic lanes in the sky for these vehicles yet.
The UK is also preparing for flying cars. In March, the government said it envisioned eVTOLs taking to the skies within four years.
Observers are skeptical of the proposed timeline. Charles Leocha, president of the consumer group Travelers United, has worked on regulations for low-level unmanned aerial vehicles for the last decade. He says the wheels are turning slowly.
“The FAA is at least a decade away from allowing or approving any kind of flying car,” he adds.
All of that has made people reluctant to order a flying car — if they can afford one. Most vehicles range from $150,000 to as much as $10 million.
“Prospective buyers are likely to hold off until regulatory barriers are dismantled,” says Francesco Cerroni, a mobility expert at the design firm Buro Happold.
Flying Cars: Where to Find Them
Lift Aircraft, which manufactures a single-seat eVTOL called Hexa, is offering test flights on its single-seat Hexas this spring. It’s scheduled to be in Lakeland Linder International Airport in Florida in April and Austin in May.
Early next year, travelers will be able to hail an air taxi from Abu Dhabi and Dubai on a four-passenger Midnight aircraft. The eVTOL, operated by UAE-based Falcon Aviation, will cover the 81-mile trip in just 30 minutes. By road, the drive takes up to two hours in traffic.
There’s even a flying car driving school. Netherlands auto manufacturer PAL-V will show you the ins and outs of flying a car. They even have a flying car showroom in Munich where viewers can buy their own gyroplane/car combination for around $550,000.
Bottom line: Flying cars remain rare. But change is on the horizon.
How Flying Cars Could Change the Way We Travel
High prices and continued doubts about the viability of zipping around town like George Jetson haven’t stopped people from thinking about the future. Experts seem to agree that safe VTOLs with FAA approval could change travel forever.
“It would reduce congestion by removing some traffic on the road and create a new aviation sector, with new jobs,” says Raj Rajkumar, professor of computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.
Flying cars could dramatically cut the drive time between destinations typically served by short-haul commercial flights. So instead of catching a shuttle flight from Washington to New York, one would just fly there in one’s own car in a fraction of the time it used to take to drive.
But that’s just the beginning. As these vehicles become faster and more affordable, they hold the promise of competing with commercial aviation – although little attention has been given so far to the environmental impacts and flight safety factors. Stay tuned!
Christopher Elliott is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist.
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