With the advent of modern, light weight materials and
computer technology, the promise of flying cars may be about to be fulfilled. A
number of inventors and small companies are working on their versions of flying
cars that they hope will revolutionize personal travel. Meanwhile, NASA is
developing a traffic control program called Highway in the Sky, which will
allow thousands of flying cars to operate at once without crashing into one
another.
The Skycar
The acknowledged front runner in the race to build the first
viable flying car is Paul Moller, who has spent forty years and millions of
dollars building and testing personal aircraft. His first attempt, the XM-2
managed to hover but not actually fly in 1965. In 1989 Moller started testing
the M200X, which has flown 200 times and can go as high as fifty feet. The
current version of the Skycar, the M400, has eight sets of rotary engines that
tilt up to take off vertically and then tilt forward to fly. It can reach speeds
of 400 mph, but will cruise at around 350 mph, and it has a range of 750 miles.
Gasoline, diesel, alcohol, kerosene and propane can be used to fuel the Skycar,
and its fuel mileage will be comparable to that of a medium-sized car, getting
20 miles to the gallon. In the event of an accident, it would deploy parachutes
and both interior and exterior air bags to facilitate a soft landing
So far there is only one copy of the M400 and it has been
tested on a tether to guard against catastrophic failure. Moller envisions a commercial
version of the Skycar being available in ten or fifteen years. Even before then
Skycars could be used for military, law enforcement, and rescue applications,
as well as for wealthy hobbyists.