Flying Cars Ready To Take Off

Ant writes "CBS News has an article, images, and a free streaming video clip of Elwood (Woody) Norris' invention of a working flying machine, AirScooter. He asked one of his test pilots to demonstrate it for 60 Minutes on a hilltop outside San Diego, California. It can fly for 2 hours at 55 mph, and go up to 10,000 feet above sea level. This week, he will receive America's top prize for invention. It's called the Lemelson-MIT award -- a half-million dollar cash prize to honor his life's work, which includes a brand new personal flying machine. Woody Norris' and others' inventions are for NASA's 'The Highway in the Sky.' It is a computer system designed to let millions of people fly whenever they please, and take off and land from wherever they please, in their very own vehicles."

Headline is wrong

[Anonymous Coward]

Should say:-

Flying cars to be made available in fifteen years time

This is just a sickening attempt to get our hopes up.

Whenever they please?

[meringuoid]

let millions of people fly whenever they please, and take off and land from wherever they please, in their very own vehicles

Homeland Security will have a fit!

Hoverboards...

[xyronix]

I'm still waiting for my hoverboard...
Fooget Flyin Cars!

big deal... simpsons already did it...

[Anonymous Coward]

wonder if it looks like that hover car on the Simpsons last night... hmm...

Fifteen years is nothing....

[lottameez]

If this thing is "real", we're going to need 15 years to get things straightened out so people aren't flying drunk, teenagers aren't racing their air scooters in public air corridors, and Starbucks has a chance to start opening outlets at 10,000 feet.

Quickly . . .

[JJ]

Buy one now before the air commute becomes congested as well.

Re:slashdotted already!

[RealityMogul]

Yeah, I know. If the guy was really so smart he should have invented a decent web server!

Yeah, but....

[dcigary]

....can it fold up into a briefcase after you land at work?

A bit late

[fizban]

Hey, timothy, get your act together! April 1st was two weeks ago!

Sheesh... Flying cars... As if...

submitter should RTFA :)

[Anonymous Coward]

The CBS news article has images and a video clip of Paul Moller's skycar NOT the airscooter, and this seems more to be a small aeroplane not a flying car in any sense of the term. I want my flying cars to look like cars (preferably a delorean) which take off akin to that in Back to the future II (vertically) like a harrier jumpjet, propellars are for planes!!

I like the idea that flying cars might soon be a reality because software has been written to keep track of everyones self made vehicles. I have just finished writting a system to keep track of timetravellers. Name, address, year travelled back or forward to and what event they hope to see. I can only see CBS news declaring that time travel is now taking off too! :)

I'm surprised these haven't happened sooner.

[91degrees]

Hover technology has been around for over a decade. The basic principle was used for the hoverboards in Back To the Future, but unforunately the hoverboards were not made avaialable because of safety concerns.

But still - The technology is there. It shouldn't require a lot of extra work to have these hovering much higher. I'm surprised there isn't more inniovation in this area. I suspect that the rubber manufacturers have been suppressing the technology, because they know it will put an end to their business.

Re:Fifteen years is nothing....

[bmw]

15 years? Try 1500... We've had cars for over 100 years now and we still haven't found a way to keep people from driving drunk and teanagers from racing in public. We probably never will. Now, Starbucks at 10,000 feet... well... there's something that wouldn't surprise me. They've already run out of space on the ground. I know of a place where you can sit in one Starbucks and look out the window across the street at guess what... Another Starbucks!

Idea good, math not so good...

[DrWhizBang]

From TFA

"...But if we sold say a couple thousand, $50,000 a piece, that's a billion dollars."

If that's how this guy does math, I think I'll wait for some other manufacturer to create these things before I buy...

Mirror?!?

[Anonymous Coward]

I know of a place where you can sit in one Starbucks and look out the window across the street at guess what... Another Starbucks!

Just curious, this Starbucks doesn't contain remarkably similar looking people to the one you are currently in?

Re:Headline is wrong

[eclectro]

No, it should say;

Gas prices take off, flying cars left behind.

Flying Cars? Bah!

[j0e_average]

I'm just looking for a webserver that can withstand 50 minutes of Slashdotting!

Cheap way to get one

[aapold]

Buy a piece of land. And wait.

Yeah, right

[JoeD]

As though idiots on cell phones weren't bad enough on the ground...

Re:Hoverboards...

[Anonymous Coward]

Wait no more! [futurehorizons.net]

This company also sells a flux capicitor [futurehorizons.net] for all your time travelling needs.

Just don't come crying to me if it doesn't work.

Re:Just what the world needs

[SpongeBobLinuxPants]

All of them talking on their cell phones at the same time

I can just see the advertising campaign

[Colin Smith]

Having looked at the thing I recommend the following:

"AirScooter, the Segway of the air!"

Re:400 feet but it goes to 10k!

[Jussi K. Kojootti]

I thought this was even more frightening:

NASA says it will draw on modern day satellites and global positioning systems to track the flying vehicles -- to prevent them from bumping into each other.

Bumping? I know marketing people like to downplay possible problems, but calling aircraft-to-aircraft collision "bumping" is both hilarious and scary.

Re:What about uncommanded rolls?

[LiquidCoooled]

The release of excriment from the pilots rear end should be enough to balance the vehicle if uncommanded roll begins whilst at altitude.

Re:public roads

[chillmost]

Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.

Re:Mirror?!?

[macthulhu]

Hell yes. Tim Horton is my co-pilot.

Tobacco companies...

[Anonymous Coward]

Tobacco companies will jump at the chance to partner with companies building these cars, and the ad line will read:

"Why drink and drive when you can smoke and fly?"

Re:400 feet but it goes to 10k!

[bcattwoo]

I thought this was even more frightening: NASA says it will draw on modern day satellites and global positioning systems to track the flying vehicles -- to prevent them from bumping into each other. Bumping? I know marketing people like to downplay possible problems, but calling aircraft-to-aircraft collision "bumping" is both hilarious and scary.

Indeed, that bumping might result in an "unanticipated landing event" along with "corporeal dispersion".

Unfortunately these bumping events will be unavoidable as millions of slashdotters will have wrapped their flying cars in tinfoil to avoid government tracking.

Re:Just what the world needs

[WormholeFiend]

How much gas is wasted on all those turns and curves...

Have you watched a car/truck commercial lately? Those are advertised as features.

That and being able to drive on top of a mountain, deep inside a jungle, doing dusty donuts in the middle of a flat desert, and so on.

Re:public roads

[Anonymous Cow herd]

No, this is how GW plans to fix social security... a free flying car beta for everyone over 60 :-)

Answer

[Craig_P92669]

DIY surface to air missile systems

Cool, they need those down here in Florida.

[scottinflorida]

I can't wait to see the elderly drive flying cars. Mayhem, disaster, flames! I'm so excited. S>

Re:Answer

[meringuoid]

DIY surface to air missile systems

Homeland Security will have a fit!

Re:Headline is wrong

[Anonymous Coward]

But when is this vision going to be real? "Somewhere between 10 and 15 years, you're going to see numbers of these vehicles out there being used," says Moller. "First, you're going to see them well before that in a military, paramilitary, police, drug addiction, border patrol type of capacity."

It won't happen until they stop using their prototype in a drug addiction capacity.

Re:Skycar - future fuel will be a problem

[gCGBD]

Although not necessarily efficient to produce, you could run the vehicle, with probably few modifications, on alcohol. ... And if you crash, you could pop open the tank for a swig to help kill the pain ...

Re:Skycar

[Anonymous Coward]

> Moller has acres and acres of pecan trees, which he eats as a staple of his diet

He should try just eating the nuts, then he wouldn't need so much space for all those trees.

Re:Doing the Math

[CrashPoint]

Oh, would you relax already? He's just designing personal aircraft for mass production and widespread use. So what if his math is a little off?

Oh. Right.

Re:Idea good, math not so good...

[lobsterGun]

Apparently in his world, "a couple" = 20.

Re:Just what the world needs

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, you probably meant all this, but as a PP-ASEL-IA with 270 hours, I can't let the terminology be that sloppy. {grin}

You must be the life of parties.

Re:Whenever they please?

[drew]

Keeping a plane in the sky is impossible to do with 100% certainty, no matter how skilled you are.

well, obviously you have to land sooner or later...

Re:Idea good, math not so good...

[DrWhizBang]

Apparently in his world, "a couple" = 20.

Oh, one of those types. I hope he films his "dates".

Re:Skycar

[unFKNreal]

Actually, it's Almonds [moller.com]

Either way, the guy is obviously quite nuts.

New twist on traffic reports

[jmcwork]

"For all you folks headed into downtown, the pigeon index is 72, and be on the look out for a flock of low flying geese."

Re:Headline is wrong

[AJWM]

Yeah, but below 400 feet you're within shotgun range...

"I thought it was a really big duck, honest!"

Re:Mirror?!?

[phil4]

Just curious, this Starbucks doesn't contain remarkably similar looking people to the one you are currently in?

... but the other you is wearing a big cowboy hat?

( Futurama. I know I blow it by telling, but... )

Re:Skycar

[Devil's Advocate]

Interesting aside: Moller has acres and acres of pecan trees, which he eats as a staple of his diet, because he believes they slow the aging process

Just proves the old adage...you are what you eat.

Re:Mirror?!?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, there's your problem... you live in Houston. Why on Earth would you want to do that?!?!?

Re:Headline is wrong

[Jardine]

If you don't want people flying over your property, you'll have to apply to the FAA to declare your property restricted airspace. Good luck.

Couldn't you secede from the nation, declare your property an independant country and defend your airspace from invaders?