When a Flying Car Crashes...

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Ehang Flying Car Company's Passenger Drones Make First Manned Flights

The Future is Finally Starting to Arrive: Chinese Ehang Working on 'Flying car'

Think Amazon delivery drones are a radical idea? A Chinese startup called Ehang has used the same technology to build an aircraft to carry a passenger more than 20 miles.

The EHang 184 AAV is a one-person pod lifted by eight rotors mounted in pairs on four folding arms -- thus the number 184. Announced Wednesday at the CES tech show in Las Vegas, the battery-powered aircraft will carry a passenger for 23 minutes at about 60 miles per hour.

For decades, people have dreamed of soaring over traffic jams with jetpacks, flying cars and other personal aircraft. EHang's 184 AAV is joining company like the Icon A5 and Terrafugia flying car that aim to make that personal aviation dream a reality despite difficulties with cost, safety, engineering and regulations.

"The 184 provides a viable solution to the many challenges the transportation industry faces in a safe and energy efficient way," said EHang Chief Executive Huazhi Hu in a statement. And though it's initially aimed at commuters and adventuresome people, "EHang will make a global impact across dozens of industries beyond personal travel," he said.

But EHang's ambition will have to reckon with sharp regulatory limits.

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Introducing the Flike: the personal tricopter (manned or womanned)

That layout sure looks familiar

Aeromobil Flying Car Prototype Crashes

It's not easy to perfect a car that can fly.

On Friday, the Aeromobil 3.0 prototype flying car was on a test flight in Slovakia when eyewitnesses say it went into a tailspin.

Its inventor and the man behind the controls, Stefan Klein, 54, parachuted out of the vehicle before it hit the ground, the Prague Post reports. Klein reportedly only sustained minor injuries.

A statement from AeroMobil offered that Klein "encountered an unexpected situation and activated the advanced ballistic parachute system in an altitude of approximately 300 meters (900 feet)."

One word that wasn't in the company's statement was "crash." Instead, AeroMobil said: "The system has proved itself fully functional and landed the entire vehicle without any injury to the pilot."

However, images published by Slovakia's Nitra show that the aerial vehicle looked rather damaged. The front end looks especially mangled.

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The Future Off Hold (finally): Aeromobil to Unveil Production Ready Flying Car This Month

While the practical challenges to a flying car are myriad, Slovakia's Aeromobil has steadily tried to overcome them. The company plans to unveil a production-ready version of its 'Flying Roadster' at the Pioneers Festival in Vienna, Austria on October 29.

The latest version—Aeromobil 3.0—is the result of continuous work by designer Štefan Klein that dates back to 1990. The Aeromobil 2.5 prototype made its first flight about one year ago.

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Future is Edging Closer: Startup Wants a Flying Near-Car for the US Military

When someone mentions flying cars it conjures up images of a sporty little number that takes to the air like something out of the Jetsons. But what about one that’s a cross between a 4x4, an octocopter, and a blackhawk helicopter? That’s what Advanced Tactics of El Segundo, California is seeing with its ambitions to produce a roadable VTOL aircraft capable of unmanned autonomous operations as a more flexible way to recover casualties, move supplies, and support special forces.

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Where's my Flying Car? In Israel

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Flying Car Prototype Which Actually Flies

Maybe the future might actually be getting here.  Its about 20 years late though!

First Personal VTOL Ready for Sale in 2 Years?

I have to admit. It feels like the future was put on hold in certain ways since the 1980s and now its finally getting here.

That thing, other is louder than fsck, flies at 60 mph for 30 minutes. I don't like the form factor though.  Standing for 30 minutes while flying?  These guys ought to work with the Aussies doing the imperial speeders!

(oh and Moller got pwned)

Finally Getting a Land Speeder...or Is It a Flying Car?

Hat tip to James.