US Air Force just demoed its first flying car, and it's excessive:
It's no secret that the US Air Force wants flying cars. The branch of the US Military announced last year that it was starting to explore electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) craft, and earlier this year, said it wants 30 vehicles in service by 2030.
After its first demonstration last week, the Air Force has just got a little closer to this goal.
[...] On Thursday last week, officials gathered in Austin, Texas to witness the first demonstration of a flying car, the 18 rotor Hexa made by Texas eVTOL startup, LIFT Aircraft.
[...] The picture below shows you pretty much everything else you need to know. The Hexa generates lift with a load of electric rotors, has space for one passenger, and it takes off from a standstill in a vertical direction.
One thing is for sure, these eVTOL craft look kinda dorky, or you might even say excessive. We'll have to come round to their aesthetic sooner or later because that excessiveness is kind of a safety requirement. LIFT says that the Hexa can land safely with up to six rotors disabled.
The demonstration was all part of what the Air Force calls its Agility Prime program, a collection of developers, communities, and events that aims to spearhead the development of personal eVTOL flying cars.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by barbara hudson on Wednesday August 26 2020, @02:59AM (1 child)
SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 26 2020, @03:45AM
>He thinks intermediaries just disappear because he says so.
Consider that private care lobbyists and medicare lobbyists are just competing players on the same team, to mask the obscene profits that can be extracted, in all the ways possible.