Why the concept of flying cars is not a useless idea?

Flying cars. The goal as an idea has been around for decades, yet the concept is not quite there yet. Will it ever be? Rich industrialists have claimed that the concept of flying cars to be a completely useless idea. But, is it really?

In fact, flying car is the type of transport that may help to solve a lot of problems such as traffic congestion and even the pollution problem. It has been considered as a brilliant idea as well by many people. And even some well-known inventors have designed their own flying cars on the basis of modern technology to make the dream come true.

So, when will the flying car become common? In my opinion, it will not be too far away from us … 10 years…20 years…?

How should a flying car work?

What should be the main purpose of a flying car? Since 100 years, in the name of a “Flying Car”, people are trying to design something that looks like a car and flies. And that does not make any sense at all. If a flying car is to ever exist, it should be affordable, cheap, lightweight, and easier to operate than the road transportation. That can solve the traffic congestion problem, in a way. So, what should be the concept and design of a flying car? Is there any other possible solution to make this concept more acceptable, realistic and practical?

Today, I’m going to tell you my own idea about the “Flying Car” design. This idea is basically based on the above opinion. If you agree with me, please read on. If not, let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. OK?

I’ve been thinking about this for quite awhile now and I came up with a better idea for air transport which has never been mentioned before : The Wing-in-ground effect (WIG) vehicle .

You might have heard of the term “paraglider” or “wing-in-ground effect”. The WIG has wings on a ground-effect vehicle (which is also called as wing-in-ground vehicle) which is totally different from a normal motor car with wings. I won’t get into more details about the concept here, instead, you can read more about it on Wikipedia .

My concept for the “Flying Car” design

My proposal for a flying car concept is quite simple: WIG vehicles with built-in, low cost and efficient electric batteries to store energy (and thus, fly). There is no need to waste gasoline or other fuels. It can run on the electricity from the grid to recharge its batteries, and then, it can be used for flying.

If you’re a car fanatic, you may want to know how does it work? This is how an ordinary air-car would work:

1) Place one or two small jet engines inside a vehicle. The jet engines are able to generate very high speed of up to 200km/h (125mph). By using the jet engine, it is possible to reach this speed. The vehicle must have some high performance aerodynamic design so that it’ll fly at that high speed.

2) The vehicle has to be lifted into the air by using some sort of hydraulic or pneumatic system. This system is also able to generate enough pressure and lift the vehicle in the air.

3) The vehicle will fly at a very high speed with a small angle of tilt, so that it can produce its “ground effect”, and reduce the drag. Again, to use lesser force needed, its design needs to be aerodynamically perfect (just like an airplane). It must have good enough power to generate forward force which can lift it up in the air with its own weight. This method is called “Ground effect”.

4) To decrease the pull of gravity and to fly at a high speed, the vehicle must have powerful and efficient electric engines, which can produce the necessary forward force. If it is not powerful enough, it will not be able to fly upwards.

5) With the help of an aerodynamic design and directional control, the air-car is able to fly in any direction of efficiency. Alternatively, one can also use vertical take-off (VTOL) method to ascend into the air.

6) Once in the air, it can be used like a normal airplane. The vehicle will become a flying car because it has no tail fins or wings like airplanes have.

And,

• It should be Lightweight, easy to carry and fly.

• It should be safe enough to operate. Safety comes first, especially when we’re talking about a flying vehicle.

• It should be cheap, so that it would not be too expensive for people to buy this vehicle. A car which is designed and engineered just like a modern automobile can never be cheap as well as lightweight because of the heavy weight of its body structure, doors and other things. Heavy cars are hard to carry (it’s not easy to lift a heavy car or truck in the air). In addition, if it’s made from aluminum alloys or other metals, it’ll use much more energy than necessary for flight due to their densities (greater weight).

• It should use less energy in general. Energy is precious, so it should be used efficiently in terms of saving power and protecting the environment.

• It should be affordable, just as affordable as cars today. In fact, the whole point of the existence of flying car is being affordable for everyone, and the flights to be as casual as car rides at the present.

• It should be able to fly at an average speed of 250km/h (150mph) to 350km/h (220mph) at most. With the help of jet engines, it’s possible for this type of vehicle (wing-in-ground effect vehicle) to reach a decent speed with less energy.

For flying cars to become a reality, they must be engineered with care. We cannot expect high speed or very low flying altitude from them. It has to fly high enough and travel at a speed which is safe for everyone (who’s not involved in an accident).

This was just one of 1000s of possibilities how flying car would look like. And I’m sure, that the people who are working on this for years, have far better possibilities even than this one.

Is it practical?

Having a flying car will help to solve the traffic problem and reduce pollution in a big way. But, it may not be the best solution for mass transportation because the biggest problem is its high speed, which will require a huge expenditure on energy. The concept has very good prospects for freight transport because of its affordability, low weight, and high cargo space. It can also be used to carry passengers from one place to another on longer distances as well. This type of vehicle is mainly designed for intercity transportation as well as long distance travel in general. Its main advantage is that it uses electric engines which produce less emission than the fossil fuel-based vehicle engines. It ensures cleaner air, in this way.

In addition, if the WIG vehicle concept is combined with those small jets, they’ll run on the electricity from the grid instead of gasoline. It will save us a lot of money and also make flying safer. In this way, you don’t need to own a large amount of space in your garage for storing fuel tanks. You don’t need to worry about your vehicle engine running out of gas while driving to take your family on a vacation trip.

The only thing that seems to have the potential to prevent it from being practical is the price. The construction cost of this vehicle would not be cheap because it would require complex engineering, so I think we can expect a very high price at least throughout the initial decades.

Also Read: Technology Advances: But How Often?

A new era in transportation

The “Flying Car” won’t be useless. It has a great potential to change our lives for good!

• A Flying Car will completely change what the world looks like. In fact, when we imagine future, the first thing that comes in our mind is vehicles flying here and there, all over.
• We won’t have to worry about traffic congestion anymore. Flying cars will change our traffic environment drastically because it can travel both on ground and in the air with its own weight, which means we’ll have an efficient transportation system.
• We can have the freedom of traveling anywhere in the world, any time, any day.
• Flying cars will make us feel comfortable while traveling. This is because it will be a lot safer compared to ordinary car. It will be faster and more efficient than ever before.
• Flying cars may be our future and important part to reduce pollution in this world.

Recommended: How Far Will Our Technology Evolve In The Next 100 Years?

Although I’m quite excited about them and I also believe they will play an important role in our lives, I still don’t know whether they’ll replace ordinary cars or not. They may keep their own identity as well. But anyway, this was all for this article. Let’s expect a flying car within the end of this decade.