Flying Cars: Is This EVER Going to Happen??

[alancranford]

Your clever Amphicar analogy reminded me of my days driving the US M113 family of "amphibious" tracked vehicles. The concept was "we don't need bridges." Problem: as a boat, the M113 isn't. The tracks power the vehicle on land and water. The vehicle must be checked prior to water operations to include making sure the hull is sealed, the anti-diving plane is in place, and the vehicle must be balanced in a float pool so that the M113 doesn't roll over and sink. The river current must be slow enough so that the M113 can swim across--and the banks must be no steeper than 30 degrees and firm--a slippery muddy exit bank means the M113 won't make it out of the river or lake. US Army standard operations procedures were to prohibit "swimming" the M113 family because there were just too many dangers.

[danielreuben]

Another great script by Kevin. I think Simon should let him have 3 minutes of daylight outside of the basement. Of course, Simon will have to use the harness, but I think Kevin might enjoy it.

[Red_the_dead_in_bed_]

I don't think I've ever seen Simon this pissed about an idea or a person/event he was commentating about 🤣

[mykemech]

Flying cars will NEVER become common or used until such a time gravity can be nullified. A simple fender-bender would result in debris falling to earth. Soon as antigravity can keep the wreck floating, we will have them! Edit: Posted before Simon said the same thing...

[PhuckedUpPhilosophy]

I like how Simon just gave up on bleeping his swear words halfway through the video, and then resumed it towards the end.

[pamelamays]

The cartoon The Jetsons, which prominently featured flying cars was set in the year 2062.
Forty years to go!🛸

[delscoville]

I rode in a car-boat a couple times, a co-worker had one in the early 90's. My description? It's like a car in the water, and a boat on land. It doesn't do both very well. He took it to and from work across the inlet every day, but after one round trip, I decided just to take the ferry.

[crazyeyez]

I remember an article in Popular Mechanics, back in the 90s, that had a legit flying car. But, it was essentially more of a tiny airplane that could fit in a lane on a highway.

[bxfx]

Watch his eyes when he says, "...and that's absolutely for the best."

You know he's thinking, "...but damn, I still want one."

[gtd]

If flying cars became popular, I'd imagine cars would have to fly in predetermined "air tunnels" to reduce collisions, just as airplanes have fixed flight paths for this very reason. At which case the reason to have a flying car becomes voided; instead of congestion on the ground, you'd have congestion in the air. (Note helicopters do not require flight paths in USA below a certain altitude, but I think this would change if the number of helicopters in the air drastically increased to the number of flying cars depicted in movies.)

[PsychoticWolfie]

Hah, I may not have ever driven an amphicar myself but I still can't get away from hearing my grandpa talk about his dad's from when he was a child. Had an old military surplus amphibious jeep, and we live next to a lake, so he would always take my grandpa and his friends out driving around the lake, then act like the brakes failed while heading towards a boat ramp. Apparently he gave a lot of people heart attacks that way, sounds like it was fun lol

[johnashleyhalls]

Very clear about the problems about flying cars, thank you. Geek time. The kubelwagen was a WW2 answer to the Jeep and a German developer thought up the schwimmwagen, the amphibious kubelwagen. The same person who created the amphicar.

[jonathanwatson]

I think we'll eventually have medium to short range flying transportation but it will not be driver controlled but computer guided with each vehicle communicating with all the others to safely reach it's destination without colliding.

[Byrvurra]

We already have flying cars, they're called helicopters and they are about as accessible to the average person as a flying car would be. Imagine the fuel costs.

[hermansteuernagel]

I think self-driving flying cars that are able to communicate with one another would make the idea of flying cars much more viable.

[ryvyr]

"It's called a (*beep*)ing subway"
Such hearty laughter <3

[mikeygallos]

This is slowly becoming one of my favorite Whistleverse channels.

[southcoastinventors]

Always thought it would end up to be more like automated VTOL for city to city travel. Basically a more advance Greyhound bus.

[waynehersel]

Seattle built the Space Needle for the 1962 Worlds Fair because someone thought that we would all live in rotating towers in the sky. 60 years later, you take an elevator to the top to go around in circles while eating a $20 hot dog.

[vennom]

My favorite analogy: what is the mortality rate of car accidents? Add 10 feet off the ground and the mortality rate would compound significantly