The World's First Commercially Available Flying Car Is Here And It's Legal

The world's first-ever commercial flying car was recently unveiled by Dutch vehicle manufacturer PAL-V. Here's what that means for our roads (and our skies).

Starting with the undercarriage, which PAL-V credits as their main breakthrough. The company was looking for a three-wheeled design that could still be stable when turning at normal road-going speeds. In 2005, they discovered the work of another Dutch company, Carver, which made 3-wheeled cars that tilted like motorcycles. A hydraulic tilting system like that could eliminate the need for a 4th wheel and also be useful to raise the whole vehicle up, giving it ground clearance for a rear-facing propeller.

Then there was the matter of generating lift. Fixed wing aircraft need air to move over their wings fast enough to stay aloft, otherwise they’ll stall. A fixed wing flying car has to compromise the size and shape of its wings in the name of practicality, meaning its risk of stalling is higher.

So PAL-V chose a rotary wing design instead, but rather than make their flying car a helicopter, they decided it should be an autogyro.

#flyingcars #technology #science #seeker #elements

Read More:

This Flying Car Costs $599K—and It’s Now Street Legal in Holland
"In driving mode the Liberty can go up to 99 miles per hour, and in flight mode its max speed is 112 miles per hour. For comparison’s sake, the average helicopter can go up to about 160 miles per hour."

Into the future: flying cars are the next generation of travel
"Having to carry heavy extra batteries to avoid the potential catastrophe of running out of charge before encountering a suitable landing place could offset emissions savings. Road cars, by contrast, can easily pull over to the side of the road when needed, without consequence."

The Long, Weird History of the Flying Car
"Ever since he invented the car, man has dreamt of taking it to the skies."

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[jackharper]

Seeing how some ppl drive, let's hope getting a license to drive/pilot one is more complex than answering 20 Qs and drive around the block..

[Faraonqa]

they looked at the problem in another way, not making a flying car, But making a drivable helicopter

[warriorfromthedeepweb]

I'm waiting for those "In the future we'll have flying cars" comments lol

[SwtGmer]

“In 2020 we will have flying cars”

December 2020: finally

[lockhrt]

1960: we'll have flying cars in 2020
2020: cars and planes are so 1960s. Everything is done virtually.

[calix]

"we'll have flying cars by 2020"

[Johansen]

There is just this little problem called a 600, 000 dollar price tag, literally cost more than my home.

[jeremymelendez]

No thank you, now I’m gonna have to worry about drunk flyers crashing through the roof of my home

[sanjit]

Heck yeah! I am gonna sell my house to buy it and sleep on clouds!

[americanvss]

Meanwhile, editors at Seeker still struggle with volume levels.

[SR_Jid]

Damn even the skies are gonna need traffic lights soon enough😫

[DarkRobotics]

1960: In the future, we'll have flying cars
2020:*flying cars*
1960: wow they actually did it, we were just joking.

[ultravidz]

These things would never be allowed in densely packed cities where you need one the most lol

[ElGattoPT]

Quoting the great Neil deGrasse Tyson - “We already have flying cars, they are called helicopters!”

[Frostx-tm]

1960: we will have flying cars
2020:👀

[masterimbecile]

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

[ryanexx]

Now we’re gonna need electric flying cars

[darinkrumov]

Seeker: Airplanes have 3 wheels.
A380 with 22 wheels: Am I a joke to you?!

[rafabdc]

"In 2020 we'll have flying cars"

2020:

[NazmiAbdRahim]

I see It more rural area friendly than urban city. Still it is a wholesome vehicle.

Those deployable blade seems very dangerous to unnoticed motorcyclist head 😨😨