Flying Cars Are NOT The Future Of Flight! This is...

Episode 5 of 5



Since the dawn of flight we've been enthralled by the idea of flying cars, but it doesn't look like that will necessarily be the future of human flight.

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Previous Episode:

Why These Planes Changed Aviation Forever: ??

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Sources:

Is There A Speed Limit For Aircraft And What Happens If A Pilot Breaks It?:

"Over three million people fly around the world every day, and there can be over 13,000 aircraft in the air worldwide at any given time."

Concorde's Maiden Flight Was 40 Years Ago Today:

"This week marks the 40th anniversary of Concorde's first commercial flight. The supersonic aircraft took off from Heathrow airport on 21 January 1976, and while some may simply enjoy the nostalgia of the celebration, for those keen to see the aircraft back in service hope may be on the horizon."

New Concorde? NASA Reviving Supersonic Travel:

"Jetsetters longing for a return to supersonic travel might soon be in luck. The U.S. space agency NASA is pushing for a new passenger jet that looks set to fill the void left by Concorde."

What Is The Future Of Supersonic Flight?:

"In 2003, the Concorde, the jet that took the wealthiest of air travelers from New York to London in a mere three hours, flew its last voyage after nearly three decades of commercial flights."

Solar Panels Are Cool, But They're Not The Future Of Flight:

"Have you heard of the Solar Impulse? It's a Swiss aircraft that's powered entirely by solar energy. The ambitious goal of this project is to fly around the world using only solar power."

Electric Future: Why Electric Airplanes Are Poised To Take Off:

"Imagine sliding open the door to your hangar, unplugging the power cable snaking from your airplane to a quick-charging station on the wall and taking to the sky in a sleek four-seater powered only by the smooth, quiet, nonpolluting whir of an electric motor connected to rows of lithium battery packs nestled in the wing."

Desert Plants And Green Diesel: Meet The Jet Fuels Of The Future:

"In little over a week, Boeing has announced three new developments in its quest to produce sustainable aviation biofuel."

Windowless Airplane Will Give Passengers High-Res Panoramic Views:

"You don't need a window for these views. Paris-based design company Technicon Design recently won an award for their IXION Windowless Jet Concept. The idea is to provide a 360-degree view using cameras mounted on the plane's exterior to capture the scenery and then project that on high-res screen on the interior cabin walls and ceiling."

What Commercial Aircraft Will Look Like In 2050:

"The aircraft industry is expecting a seven-fold increase in air traffic by 2050, and a four-fold increase in greenhouse gas emissions unless fundamental changes are made. But just how "fundamental" will those changes need to be and what will be their effect on the aircraft we use?"

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TestTube Plus is built for enthusiastic science fans seeking out comprehensive conversations on the geeky topics they love. Host Trace Dominguez digs beyond the usual scope to deliver details, developments and opinions on advanced topics like AI, string theory and Mars exploration. TestTube Plus is also offered as an audio podcast on iTunes.

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[FPVREVIEWS]

I have to disagree. The key to flying cars is power to weight ratio of the motors, combined with an extremely lightweight structure(but strong) and energy density of the batteries.
We currently have all of that except for the batteries.
most people don't realize that the power to weight ratio of modern electric motors is actually extremely high, compared to fuel powered engines. and they are far more efficient. getting enough disk area to hover efficiently is also a challenge, but it's an engineering challenge, not an impossible feat we cannot overcome.
it will happen, just watch the battery technology.
what we will see first, is package delivery by hybrid VTOL electric aircraft, followed by transport with similar vehicles of larger size for shipping palates, then containers. about that time there will be similar human rated vehicles, and the demand for transportation will go down due to increased automation in the workplace, and some very good VR.
after those things, you will see true flying cars, more similar to Back To the future, but by then, it will seem like a logical next step, and nobody will think about it much more than they were awed when you could take a picture with a mobile phone.
and people won't be driving any of these vehicles...
well, that's my two cents.

[Slavir_Nabru]

I appreciate Boeing backing this series but I gotta wonder, how many TestTube Plus viewers do they think are in the market for a new 747? I suppose it only takes one....

[jorgekajali]

pls make a series in syfy things that might be possible

[openbabel]

In 1889 when the first manned flight was made in the UK people have been facinated by flight. However personal flight is restricted to regulated aircraft and is likely to be for your lifetime making the flying car not only a still born idea but not a good idea.When people think about flying cars they forget the elephant in the room.Low level airspace is full already in cities and few people will pay to use them in areas of the world where there is free airspace such as the southern ocean. Concorde was noisey as it effectively used ram jet Technology allowing it to reach very high altitudes where turbo fans cannot operate. It was designed for Mac 2 as Mac 3 was not economic and materials technology is still not viable at the 600 c operating temperatures at this speed.Virgin have been testing Bio fuels on 747rr aircraft for some years.

[damenwhelan]

the English channel has historically been the first grand step in aviation ability.

the first open water transit of hot airbaloon up to aeroplanes.
if one wishes to take a concept in aviation from the drawing board to the board room, one must first conqure the channel!

[NickCombs]

I'm fairly confident that self-driving cars (which are only a few years away) are the first step towards personal flight. Once we have an infrastructure of many ground vehicles that can learn to share limited road space, that tech can be adapted to something that flies. It may even be a natural progression, since self-driving cars would reduce collision counts, but likely not overall traffic congestion. In other words, AI cars can talk to each other to prevent stupid choices that impede traffic flow, but they each have to take up road space. Also, the number of cars is growing rapidly compared to the amount of road needed to hold them. So it makes sense that we will want to shift to using air space for practical reasons, instead of flights of fancy. Once it's a viable option, there will be pressure on governments make the necessary changes, and they will enforce a "personal commute" zone of sorts that more traditional planes will have to fly above.

[qienna]

Let's do away with flying and jump right to teleporting!

[IbervilleMusic]

I think that the only hurdle will be to develop better batteries and self driving technology. When "drone" cars can fly 1-3 hours on a single charge and are able drive themselves, they will be widely adopted.

[nasa]

the icon for this vid looked like a fucking flying elevator

[AsitorCorporation]

I remember being told about the ZEST 8-9 years ago when I was in Primary school, it was the coolest sounding thing ever. They originally said 2020 was when it would be done by. I doubt it.

[wantblackwolf]

Planes got us to where we are now but I think the future is high speed trains. Trains can be 100% green by running off electricity. And the upfront cost of a new track system will be nothing when the train starts paying for itself. And I can see us building an underwater track that would connect countries. I always thought a vacuum tube like at the bank would be cool.

[PartVIII]

You should do a series on the future of energy! Biofuels, nuclear, solar, wind, etc.

[matthewschilling]

You should do a week all about Trains, that would be awsome!

[stevenkurinec]

Do a series on the evolution of military aircraft instead of commercial.

[VeracityTrigger]

The manned drones we could use would have to be computer controlled or everyone would be quoting Indiana Jones when his dad questions if Indiana can fly.- 'Fly, yes, .. land, no..'

[dotter]

Public drones are a good idea, but only if they're self-flying, (for the same reason as flying cars.)

[tvcomputer]

"We talked about how airplanes learned to fly". I laughed. But I knew what you were getting at ;)

[connorjohnson]

when you said move the cockpit form the noise to the tail, i immediately thought of the fireflash airliner from thunderbirds

[seaplaneguy]

Going faster is not the future next step. Quick connections is the key factor. Mastering the space from the ground to 1000 feet is the next step of the future.

[Sassymui]

There are flying cars already. It's called Airplane LOL