From "Blade Runner" to "Back to the Future" and Popular Science magazine, flying cars have always been the ne plus ultra fantasy of future vehicles.
Such flights of fancy owe much of their prevalence to the simple fact that the technology already exists -- automobiles and airplanes have been around for more than a hundred years. Given that modern man is capable of flying to the moon, designing a car that runs on coffee or even a motorcycle fueled by poop, one would think that sticking a couple of wings on a sedan isn't asking too much.
So where are we with flying cars? How soon before we're all soaring the wild blue yonder in our own personal verification that the future has indeed arrived?
About the closest we've gotten to take off is Terrafugia's Transition Flying Car, with its foldable wings and front-wheel drive. Over the summer the company received special exemptions from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, essentially giving it clearance to start delivering the car next year.
The NHTSA exemptions allowed Terrafugia to outfit the Transition Flying Car with shatter-resistant plastic windows instead of the standard automotive safety glass normally used in cars. The exemptions also gave Terrafugia permission to use tires not normally allowed for multipurpose vehicles.
In 2010, the Federal Aviation Administration removed a major speed bump for Terrafugia when it agreed to classify the Transition as "light sport aircraft," despite the vehicle being 120 pounds too heavy for that classification.
A few bureaucratic nods of federal heads and policy modification may sound like small potatoes, but these are the necessary, albeit unsexy, measures that the flying car must undergo if it's ever to make its transition from science fiction to reality. The world's transportation infrastructures exist in systems that are meticulously regulated for good reason -- to keep you safe -- and they can't be modified overnight. The absence of flying cars in the skies and on the street isn't due to the lack of technology. Piloting through all the red tape is a slog, and it can clip even the most well-designed wings.
Plus, unless you're of the more affluent tax bracket, there's a good chance a flying car is somewhat beyond your means -- especially when you factor in the $2,000 to $5,000 needed to obtain your light sport aircraft license, as well as Terrafugia's $10,000 deposit required to reserve your own "roadable aircraft," on top of the Transition's $279,000 price tag.
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The flying car is certainly on the horizon, but thinking about all the protocol it must navigate to become a practical and affordable mode of transportation is enough to send anyone into a tailspin.
So for now, either be content with the progress that's been made ... or start saving your pennies for a down payment on a Transition.
Credit: Corbis
Tags: Auto, Cars, Concept Cars, Transportation, Transportation Infrastructure
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