It has no wheels. Well, no proper wheels like the other flying cars.
Is there a fundamental reason why this can’t be done? Helicopters fly, after all.
AFAIK, this has been done in a military context (don’t have time now to Google a pic). The issue is / will be the same as for a helo – rotor wash. Ever stood next to departing helo? Not sure how lateral stability is achieved in this design, although being essentially a ducted fan mounted horizontally, that’s probably not a huge issue. Also not clear from the article (ok, it is the Daily Mail…….) how forward propulsion will be achieved.
Sure, it can be done. But what every helicopter designer will tell you is that the bigger the rotor disc, the less power is needed to lift it’s own weight. So by the sheer size of the two ducted fans here, you’re looking at a very inefficient design. It will need a lot of power to be able to hover and it will burn a lot of fuel just to be able to fly. It will also have some pretty sporty autorotational capabilities. It will be dropping like a freight train when the engine fails. In fact, I bet both fans have to be interconnected just like on the V-22 Osprey, as there simply would not be enough time to get the “working” rotor into autorotation quick enough if the non-working rotor fails catastrophically.
I think this is a bit inefficient, so much metal around four seats, which will mostly be empty.
I think the design below has had about the same amount of scientific rigour applied, and may be a real alternative.
In any case, both designs deserves exactly the same amount of attention.
In fact, there appears to be a working prototype.
FAA certification is expected end of this year, and EASA will follow shortly thereafter. Probably right after the Terrafugia and the Moller SkyCar.
this has been done in a military context
Yes – I had a bit more time to look around wikipedia
Curious how little we later heard of that project.
IMO the Volocopter is a much better design and is already flying. http://www.e-volo.com/index.php/en/
I’m an old fashioned kind of guy and while I enjoy science fiction movies with flying cars, eg. Blade Runner, I have no wish to get into a thing like that. I like wings, fixed wings and I like a human being, not some AI algorithm, in control of it, regardless of a human being’s proven fallibility.
Nor would I want my neighbours rasping in and out of their driveways in such things.
Possibly misquoting Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park) “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.”
Cobalt wrote:
shortly thereafter. Probably right after the Terrafugia and the Moller SkyCar
:-)
