Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Blade Runner, and Harry Potter...
All feature something that people have been dreaming about for decades.
Flying cars.
And now that autonomous vehicles are being tested, it’s natural to ask:
Are flying cars next?
Although Jetsons-style family flight is probably decades away, air taxis could be in wide use
by 2030.
Those would be less like a flying car from the movies...and more like a hobbyist’s drone.
That’s been enlarged to hold half a dozen people.
They’re being designed to be lighter, quieter, more environmentally friendly and — crucially
— less expensive to operate than helicopters.
A major difference is that they will run on electricity.
And they won’t be used like a typical on-demand taxi in the beginning.
More like a ferry running on a schedule between two points — from an airport to downtown,
for example.
As technology, regulation and popular acceptance advance, air taxis could be operated remotely,
and eventually autonomously, driving down costs.
There are more than 70 companies that have projects in development.
Some are working prototypes.
So far, the biggest technological hurdle with air taxis is batteries:
Which are large, heavy, and don’t last long.
But thanks to the development of electric cars, battery technology is improving rapidly.
Taking us closer and closer to our flying vehicle dreams.
Of course, there are still a lot of regulatory hurdles.
Airspace would quickly get crowded and dangerous if just about anyone could become a pilot.
In the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration can take years to certify a new helicopter…
the first air taxis could take even longer.
Regulators will be especially cautious about pilotless flight.
But test flights could start happening soon.
And Uber Elevate hopes to connect major American cities to their suburbs by 2023.
In the meantime though, driverless cars are expected to reduce traffic and take passengers door-to-door…
Potentially diminishing demand for flying vehicles before they've even taken-off.