Anyone who is a fan of science fiction and technological advances has always been thrilled at the idea of a flying car. While it may seem like it is something that still is way into the future, it is slowly but surely becoming something more of a reality. What remains to be seen, is just how far into the future we will see these cars, and who will be the first to bring them to the public? With so many players on the board, there are many ways we could see flying cars become a part of our lives in the very near future.
It has been predicted time and again that in the future people will have cars that fly. Well one Slovakian company released a prototype last year of a car that could have the ability to do so. Their model is a long car that almost resembles the body shape of a helicopter, which has wings that can be stowed in the body. It will be able to navigate road traffic, as well as air traffic, where it will take off and land safely at airports. Their hope is to bring this car to market by 2017, though we will have to wait and see.
Transportation of the Future
Another new model on the table is the Terrafugia TF-X. The company is based in Massachusetts and their model is both a flying car and an amphi-car, which means it could go in water as well. It is a four seat hybrid car that does not need a runway to take off. It is also controlled by computers when it is in flying mode. Its wings project outward and they both have little motor pods, much like a helicopter, attached to them. In cruise mode, the propellers are stowed away. It is projected to go about 500 miles at 200 mph.
While these flying cars have yet to hit the market, no doubt they will be quite a pretty penny. When the time comes, we may just see more cars in the sky than we originally thought possible. This could be a great solution for cities like São Paulo, Shanghai, and Tokyo, where traffic is so bad that it can take hours to get anywhere. With fewer cars on the road, and more in the sky, the idea of decreased pollution is also a huge advantage. The world will just have to wait and see when these cars will hit the market, and when they do, we will truly be living in the futuristic world that many predicted so long ago.
