One flying car seems absurd; Larry Page has three.
He started with Cora, a two-seater flying taxi, then added a sporty flying boat called Flyer, both developed by a company called Kitty Hawk. And last week, The Verge discovered a third: Opener, which just came out of stealth mode. There was no mention of the Google co-founder in the startup’s announcement, but when confronted with evidence of Page’s involvement, Opener quickly issued a press release admitting it.
Flying cars (more formally known as eVTOLs — for electric vertical takeoff and landing) are the electric scooters of aviation. Everyone from Uber to Airbus is working to build the lightweight aircraft and the aerial networks they will require, to say nothing of a host of well-funded startups, including Joby in the US, Volocopter in Germany, and China’s EHang.
Just last week the airline companies got upset at how disruptive SpaceX and Blue Origin are to their flight plans.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Friday July 20 2018, @04:27PM (2 children)
True enough, and it seems a relatively cheap and fun hobby. I mean I'm sure Musk gets a thrill watching one of his rockets fly, especially when it's a new design testing some major new component or capability - but I suspect having a stable full of creative personal aircraft makes the average weekend a lot more fun.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday July 20 2018, @04:53PM (1 child)
"creative personal aircraft" don't always transform all their potential and kinetic energy in a controlled manner.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Friday July 20 2018, @04:58PM
Heck, neither do well-established and tested designs - and that's pretty exciting too. Maybe it's the last excitement you ever have, maybe it leaves you with a good story to tell - either way, a lot more interesting than sitting around drinking beer and watching TV.