Geneva Motor Show Debuts 2 flying car concepts

[FSogol]

This past month at the Geneva Motor Show, two car companies debuted their flying car concepts. Each took a different approach toward designing a vehicle for both land and air.

The Personal Air and Land Vehicle (Pal-V) Liberty vehicle has two seats, retractable helicopter blades, and is powered by a gasoline-fueled engine. The vehicle has a dual engine propulsion drive train, based on a two fully certified airplane engine from Rotax. The Pal-V Liberty is certified under both the EASA in Europe and the FAA in the U.S. The driver will need a pilot license to fly the vehicle.

On the ground, the speed range is 50 kilometers per hour up to 160 kilometers per hour (30 to 100 miles per hour). The top speed acceleration is just under nine seconds. The engine of 100 horsepower has a fuel economy of 7.61/100 kilometer with a range of 1315 kilometer (817 miles).

The Pop.Up Next from Airbus and Audi

The power of a driving vehicle with autonomous driving was also on display at the Geneva Motor Show. Airbus and Audi introduced the Pop.Up Next, the follow to the Pop.Up now with self-driving technology on the road that can vertically lift into the air like a helicopter.

The vehicle is a two-seat passenger that has a 60-kW (80-hp) electric powered sled for autonomous driving on the ground. The top speed is 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) and the 15 kilowatt-hour battery has a 130-kilometer (81-mile) range.

Whole article and more pictures here:

http://www.machinedesign.com/mechanical/sky-it-s-flying-cars?NL=MACD-001&Issue=MACD-001_20180323_MACD-001_545&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002209975&utm_campaign=16130&utm_medium=email&elq2=a9daf07e351c490397afa378104b1887

[Matthew28]

1. really cool

But wake me when they're being sold to consumers.

[FSogol]

2. Move to an underground bunker when they're sold to consumers....

[AllaN01Bear]

3. gee here we go again

these car makers have been promesing these type of cars since the 30s . wont happen espically when the patent attorneys and the product liability attorneys will sue the minute these things hit the production line . then theres regulatory issues . in this country who would govern the flying aspect(faa) then who would govern the road aspect of the machines? the state dmv? also would one need flying lessons ? ( im assuming so) also where would they depart and land from? ( im sure not from public roads . lots of questions.

[FSogol]

4. In the 2nd example, It's a self-driving flying car. That's new. n/t

[marble falls]

5. I'll take one when they sound like this....

[chowder66]

8. Because I love that sound too I played the video and my sleeping cats shot straight up! lol nt

[marble falls]

9. My cat is interested in it, too. But the one that for some reason that really pissed him off ....

is the video of the cat playing a theremin.

[chowder66]

11. Their faces are hilarious. nt

[marble falls]

12. That video made my cat so angry. Attacked me and the laptop.

[chowder66]

13. I'm sorry because I'm laughing. Can't help it. I hope you healed okay. nt

[marble falls]

14. reminded me of this....

[chowder66]

16. Soooo funny. I remember this episode from when I was a kid - granted, it was a rerun.

Slowly I turned...step by step, inch by inch

[AllaN01Bear]

17. yessss.

and fold into a briefcase.

[marble falls]

20. Forgot that, I'll take the briefcase option, too.

[GetRidOfThem]

6. I love this junk concept....

Cars and planes don't mix, period. A car needs to have an entirely different weight distribution than an aircraft, it is supposed to hug the road and handle curves without slipping on the pavement.. An aircraft is supposed to hand g forces not by friction (unlike a car), and tries to keep the center of gravity ahead of the center of lift.

You combine aircraft and car you get (a) a car that does not drive very well, and (b) a flying contraption that does not fly very well.

But it is fun sci-fi stuff. I remember the contraption of a car that had a Cessna Skymaster's wings detachable from the roof - it was even in a Bond movie. Yes, it would be so cool to lift off into the air with your - ahem - car.

But there is also another reason why these concepts fail: Learning to fly a plane is a much more complicated process than learning to drive a car. The mass market appeal would never work, because too few people would actually be licensed to fly the clunker.

(I am both a car driver, amateur mechanic, and a pilot...)

[jberryhill]

7. But it's no good underwater

Screw that.

If they don't have a car/plane that also works as a submarine, then what good is it?

[ProfessorGAC]

18. Of Course, It Will Work Underwater

Well, for a little while, anyway. Then there's the whole filling up with water thing, but for that first 5 minutes, smooth as silk.

[spanone]

10. oy, humans are not capable

[0rganism]

15. humans can barely handle 2D traffic

sometimes i fear for the future

[DFW]

19. Looks like a rare instance

...where the cost of collision insurance would be triple the cost of the vehicle.