Pentagon Clears Flying-Car Project For Takeoff 90
unassimilatible writes "DARPA has announced a 'Personal Air Vehicle Technology' project. It will 'ultimately lead to a working prototype of a military-suitable flying car — a two- or four-passenger vehicle that can "drive on roads" one minute and take off like a helicopter the next. The hybrid machine would be perfect for "urban scouting," casualty evacuation and commando-delivery missions, the agency believes.' Wired has the summary of the project."
Maybe they'll take inspiration from Terrafugia's "drivable airplane."
Re:Great! (Score:4, Interesting)
It's amazing what weirdo's with a bunch of money can do http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules [wikipedia.org]
This one will probably turn out to be as useful but at least someone is trying!!! Too bad it's with my money this time.
Re:Will 80 mph do? (Score:3, Interesting)
It's interesting that nobody thought of this (a parawing car) before
I'm surprised he's not also adapting it to airboats [wikipedia.org] as used in Florida and Louisiana. Though I guess he gets more press coverage for "flying car" than "sea plane".
Re:Autogyro (Score:1, Interesting)
I would say it doesn't look too hard to make a 4 seater out of this one: http://www.sparkdesign.nl/en/news/PALV?page=2
Re:Autogyro (Score:1, Interesting)
Sounds [youtube.com] like [youtube.com] super [roanoke.com] awesome [apn.co.nz] fun [youtube.com].
Wonder [bbc.co.uk] why [thewest.com.au] no-one [abc.net.au] has [toledoblade.com] thought [news.com.au] of [scotsman.com] that [iol.co.za] before? [estcourt.co.za]
Re:Auto Industry Bailout (Score:1, Interesting)
"Also funny how it's the Democrats pushing for the auto bailout, but its the Republicans who are always accused of being in cahoots with corporations. "
There are two reasons your snide remark is wrong.
1. The auto makers provide benefits (pensions, health care) to many many current and former employees (which is part of why they're currently screwed). So this is essentially about protecting the people who rely on the companies, not the companies themselves.
2. Auto-maker empoyees are the epitome of "middle america", as is the focus for the democrats. Wall street is bankers and traders etc, which is hardly the man on the floor - the traditional focus of the republicans is "other rich people".
Flat screens, too... (Score:4, Interesting)
I've been reading since the early '50s about the imminent personal flying craft and similar wonders in such august publications as PopSci, Popular Mechanics, etc. I grow weary.
Yeah.
But I've also been reading about flat TV screens for as long, too. (They had a cute one back then: Neon switches, crosspoint matrix, electroluminescent elements at the crosspoints for scan, then transparent conductor, opaque light-controlled-resistor, and another layer of electroluminescent matterial for the screen light source. Plastic "circuit board" so you could wrap it around a pencil.)
It took 'em half a century to get (several types of) TV quality flat screens. And they're all STILL more expensive than CRTs. (Maybe now that the LCD price fixing conspiracy is broken that will FINALLY change.)
Ditto "dynabook". Ditto microscopic robots - some circulating in the blood stream - for microsurgery and/or immune system assist against diseases. Ditto cloned replacement teeth. Ditto age-retarding-or-reversing drugs.
A lot of stuff is FINALLY STARTING to happen. But I've been waiting a LONG time for it. And at this rate maybe I'll get to see prototypes of some of it by the time I retire, but still won't get the benefit of playing with the toys. B-(
Re:Auto Industry Bailout (Score:2, Interesting)
or how about this: keep the factories, keep the workers, keep the engineers, and keep the rest of the manufacturing infrastructure, but get rid of the CEOs, VPs & board members and their multi-million-dollar-per-year pensions & severance packages. you can also do away with most of the upper management along with the marketing, advertising, and sales departments.
just because the manufacturing infrastructure is useful doesn't mean the corporate baggage is. they're the reason why the domestic auto industry even needs a bailout right now. they're also the ones who've got to keep their lush salaries and corporate benefits while factories are shut down and workers laid off.
just because a business dies doesn't mean the skilled labor and infrastructure suddenly evaporates. you could nationalize the companies and just keep the factories and main workforce, or you could just let other (perhaps smaller) companies buy up bits and pieces of the defunct company. there are many alternatives to a government bailout, which basically removes all accountability for poor business practices, decisions, and corporate policies.
if they fuck up so badly that they need a bail out, just let someone else have a shot at running the domestic auto industry, preferably some newcomers who will break up the current oligopoly and lower the barriers to entry. this way you have greater diversity of car manufacturers, which means greater selection of choices for consumers. and an industry comprised of lots of smaller companies competing equally instead of being dominated by 3-4 big companies is also more conducive of technological innovation and original thinking.
it would serve the interest of the public much more if, rather than handing the Big Three free money, the federal government instead gave the money to smaller more technologically innovative companies like Tesla Motors and let them take over the manufacturing infrastructure not being used by Ford, Chrysler, and GM. if anything, government subsidies should be given to the new underdogs that are bringing innovation and reviving the domestic auto industry, not the monolithic reactionary Big Three auto makers that have been dragging the industry down.
Re:No one on Moller yet? (Score:3, Interesting)
I remember reading about Moller's Skycar in Popular Science when I was a kid...about 30 years ago. It's a pretty well-documented fraud now.
use vtol/helicopter (Score:1, Interesting)
why not just vtol or a helicopter on wheels? the propellers could fold up or down as needed or the vtol could face forward for thrust but put wheels on the vehicle.