Airbus CEO sees 'flying car' prototype ready by end of year

[octoberlib]

Airbus Group plans to test a prototype for a self-piloted flying car as a way of avoiding gridlock on city roads by the end of the year, the aerospace group's chief executive said on Monday.

Airbus last year formed a division called Urban Air Mobility that is exploring concepts such as a vehicle to transport individuals or a helicopter-style vehicle that can carry multiple riders. The aim would be for people to book the vehicle using an app, similar to car-sharing schemes.

"One hundred years ago, urban transport went underground, now we have the technological wherewithal to go above ground," Airbus CEO Tom Enders told the DLD digital tech conference in Munich, adding he hoped the Airbus could fly a demonstration vehicle for single-person transport by the end of the year.

"We are in an experimentation phase, we take this development very seriously," he said, adding that Airbus recognized such technologies would have to be clean to avoid further polluting congested cities.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-group-tech-idUSKBN1501DM

[MineralMan]

1. Sure. Move the gridlock to the sky.

Except that crashes in the air would be a real problem. Too many people. Too many "flying cars." Not enough places to land. The list of reasons why this is a bad idea goes on and on.

[octoberlib]

3. I don't see how it would work. We'd have to build more flight control towers.

And if a vehicle had mechanical problems and crashed, it would likely kill people on the ground as well.

[MineralMan]

5. It won't work. It's altogether impractical.

Take Los Angeles as an example. The greater LA area has multiple busy airports, with constant air traffic that pretty much covers the entire area. Most of it is planes taking off or descending to land. Flying cars would have to contend with that commercial air traffic. It's also loaded with helicopters, flying here and there.

Similar air traffic situations occur over most major cities. Controlling thousands of small aircraft in such crowded zones would be a recipe for disaster every day. And then, places to land would be an even worse problem. While there are helicopter pads on most large buildings in major cities, there are also thousands of people working in those buildings. No time for all of those "flying cars" to arrive and depart to carry so many people.

It's a silly proposal and has always been a silly proposal.

[MineralMan]

2. There's someone in the Twin Cities who commutes by plane.

I'm not sure where he/she lives or works, but every morning at about 7 AM a distinctive sounding small plane flies over my house on its way to the St. Paul Downtown Airport. Then, I hear the same plane fly over late in the afternoon. Every day. It's a commuter, flying his own private plane to work.

Now, when I think about the costs of flying a small plane, the amount of fuel used, and maintenance costs, it makes no sense at all for this person to commute that way. Must be a highly paid executive, I'm thinking.

[octoberlib]

4. A lot of executives use helicopters but I can't imagine a sky full of flying vehicles.

The cost would be too prohibitive for most people.

[Buns_of_Fire]

6. In a related story, the roof-repair and wreckage-cleanup industries

are anticipating a surge in business.

Also, the insurance policy rider "plane falling on your head" will no longer be an inside joke, but will be a legally-enforcable contract, with premiums starting at $1,000/year up to $100,000/year (depending on location).

[Sherman A1]

7. Great 👍