Game changer: Flying car successfully completes maiden flight

[Trajan]

An electric flying car that promises to revolutionise how we travel has completed its maiden test flight in Germany.

Lilium, the company developing the jet-propelled vehicle, says it could eventually change the face of transport by allowing passengers to rapidly travel through cities or commute long distances quickly.

The Lilium Jet takes off and lands vertically, like a helicopter, but uses wingpower once in the air to travel quietly and efficiently. Powered by an electric battery, it has a range of 300km (186 miles) and can travel at 300km per hour.

The prototype, tested in Munich, had room for two people but Lilium has developed a version that can seat five that it eventually plans to use to transport passengers. Lilium expects that users will hail the flying car with an app, as people currently do with Uber cars.

It says that because of the reduced time it will take to ferry people around cities, the vehicle will eventually be able to take people from JFK Airport in New York for $6 (£4.70) and in five minutes. The equivalent journey in a taxi takes 55 minutes and costs up to $73.

The electric motor is meant to reduce emissions in busy cities, while quicker transport and less traffic will make it five times faster than a typical car journey. The company says this means people will be able to live five times further away from work than they do today.


The vehicles would only need a small area to take off and land in, so could do so on the roofs of buildings and car parks. The "vertical take-off and landing" (VTOL) technology directs its 36 jets downwards to ascend into the air, and then horizontally to drive it forward.

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Flying car successfully completes maiden flight

 

[HopeKillCure]

That's not a flying car it's a smaller plane. Shyte has wings on the side of it, looks like a pod

 

[Deflatedhoopdreams]

Let's get it

 

[Field Marshall Bradley]

That's a big ass drone

 

[CodeBlaMeVi]

Interesting

 

[ThaBronxBully]

It's Gonna Shuttle People From JFK Air Port But It Fits 2 People?

 

[Prodyson]

creating a system that allows a large volume of these things to travel in the air without a catastrophe will probably be just as much work as making this thing. Can't draw lines, create lanes and hang stop lights in the air.

 

[HopeKillCure]

It's Gonna Shuttle People From JFK Air Port But It Fits 2 People?

Now people have an even better chance to die in a plane crash... oh sorry I meant car crash

 

[Trajan]

It's Gonna Shuttle People From JFK Air Port But It Fits 2 People?

The prototype, tested in Munich, had room for two people but Lilium has developed a version that can seat five

 

[CodeBlaMeVi]

creating a system that allows a large volume of these things to travel in the air without a catastrophe will probably be just as much work as making this thing. Can't draw lines, create lanes and hang stop lights in the air.

Air traffic control and it's practically a helicopter.

 

[newworldafro]

The article's title is somewhat inaccurate. The terminologies and capabilities are being mixed up a somewhat....but potentially merging at the same time...so who knows what accurate description for flying devices will be out there in 10 years. We could have VTOL SUVs with wheels that fold in (yes I just described Back to the Future vehicles)....its getting crazy. Also some blimp technology being looked at.

Flying Cars About to Hit the High......Skyways..:dahelljr:

Hover boards???.........we off that

These are the 3 Most Prolific Non-traditional Air Devices on the Cusp of Doing Much More as Far as Transport for Humans (and Freight/Products)

1) Drone technology
http://www.thecoli.com/posts/20118949/

Take a look at the flyboard air breh(ette)s.......

2) Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) (which could basically be human seated drones that can fly hundreds if not thousands of miles. The most well known and really only seriously working VTOL is the Harrier Jet, like the one in True Lies which came out in 1994. )

Uber hires NASA aircraft engineer to help develop flying cars at Uber Elevate

Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) vehicles have the potential to compete or close some airports....






3) Flying cars (traditional airplanes that can also be driven on highways, which are already legal)
http://www.thecoli.com/posts/20124757/

TECHNICALLY PLANE/AUTOMOBILES EXIST and are FAA APPROVED and by other Governments (Just a Matter of Putting them Into Production)

 

[mortuus est]

already copped it

 

[UpAndComing]

They coulda put this out 15-20 years ago. They were just looking for the right way to market it

 

[GreenGhxst]

I don't trust it, fukk that. I'll stick to earth

 

[Prodyson]

Air traffic control and it's practically a helicopter.

And who can fly helicopters. And how many helicopters are travelling in a given area at one time.

We're talking about flying cars shuttling people to the airport... for $6, lol. I imagine they expect to have a large volume of vehicles travelling in the air at once if that's the case.

The amount of air traffic control that would take would be massive. A new industry would probably have to be created to support it. And mind you, I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying the amount of work and effort to get it done would be enormous.