Geneva Motor Show Debuts 2 flying car concepts

[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...)