Once we have passed a certain chronological threshold, we all begin to think that aerohighways lined with flying cars like the Delorean of Back to the Future 2 It would be one of many technologies that look good on the screen but simply cannot be transferred to the real world.
However, if not at least as shown in the film, yes in a certain way, it may be soon our skies will be full of flying cars.
billion
As of mid-2019, more than $1 billion were already being invested in a minimum of 25 flying car companies, such as Zee Aero, Opener and Kitty Hawk.
A dozen vehicles were already carrying out test flights, as explained Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler in his book The future goes faster than you think:
They come in all shapes and sizes, from motorcycles perched on oversized fans to human-sized quadcopter drones to miniature space capsule-like planes.
One of the most interesting projects is that of Uner air. If a helicopter has a cost per kilometer of $5.55, Uber Air wants to reduce it to $3.56. But the long-term goal is to reach a price of 27 cents per kilometer, that is, cheaper than driving a land car. His interest is focused on the so-called eVTOL, electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles.
For an eVTOL to enter the flying car program, it must be capable of transporting a pilot and four passengers at a speed of 240 km/h for three hours of uninterrupted service. Uber already has five suppliers that have committed to delivering eVTOL vehicles that meet these requirements.
The most commercially viable efficient aircraft is the Celera 500L. At the moment it is in the prototype phase, but it has already carried out more than 30 successful test flights. Maybe, if we're a little optimistic, Back to the Future 2 could be right around the corner.
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The news
At least 25 companies are already dedicating themselves to developing flying cars
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.