People Need to Lose Money?
That's all I can conclude. After reading another article about another "flying Uber" (and thinking real hard for 5 minutes) the only answer I can come up with is; Some people need to lose money. I don't know if it's a tax thing or a gambling thing or what. But that's the only thing that makes sense because flying cars ain't gonna happen.
I'll pick on the New York Times because I have a digital subscription (I can't get a hard copy around here for miles and miles) and it's the last story I read. But you can pick (on) any flying car story you want. It ain't gonna happen.
"...within five years a fleet of them could provide a 10-minute trip from Manhattan to Kennedy International Airport for $70."
What makes anybody think they're going to get anything that flies within a mile of Kennedy (JFK)? Seriously? Do you think one of these things is going to fly you to your gate? To your terminal?
Here. I spun the image around so you can see what I'm talking about.
The red circle highlights the arrow showing which way is North. The red line/arrow points towards Manhattan, just like the departures that take off on runway 31L. If you were a big ol' jumbo jet taking off on runway 31L, you'd be pointed right at Manhattan to the west-northwest. That means you'd be flying right at that "fleet" of flying cars coming to JFK from Manhattan with all their passengers so happy they aren't stuck on the Belt Parkway.
Where are you going to land? Remember, your “"Jetsons”-like flying car" with it's "carbon fiber body" has a "36-foot wingspan". I know your magic carpet is going to land on the roof of Terminal 1 so you can visit Starbucks after shopping at Hermes, Princess, but where is the rest of the "fleet" supposed to park? After all, it says it right there in the article, this flying car thing "is not just a rich person’s toy".
Lets read a little more critically shall we people? I mean, somebody is supposed to believe in this fairy tale, right? This article did appear in the New York Times so there must be some kernel of reality in it, right?
"There aren’t enough air traffic controllers now to handle a big influx of flights across cities."
Oh dear. I always wonder of everybody else feels this way when a reporter starts talking about their own area of expertise. Tell you what. I'm not even going to bother. After all, these things are going to be automated so we'll just say they're going to automate the (non-existant) ATC system that will handle them too. After all, what could possibly go wrong?
Self-Driving Uber in Crash Wasn’t Designed to See Jaywalkers
Say again? How in God's name can you program an autonomous car and not think about jaywalkers? And you think these guys are going to automate flying? Above a densely-packed urban environment? In all kinds of weather? (Getting back to the flying car problem...)
"Executives say the company has completed hundreds of test flights and simulations, but none were held during the visit because of rain and wind."
Ah. So there is a touch of reality in this story.
I really don't mean to be the pessimist but, hey, somebody has to. I'm glad there are dreamers out their trying to accomplish the impossible. That's what the Wright Brothers were. I've watched the Lilium video. This thing is way cool. But affordable? Think of the energy requirements for vertical takeoff. Trip after trip, day after day, month after month. The wear and tear on the 36 engines. Maybe one day some energy breakthrough will make all this technically feasible. However, nobody has cracked the code in my lifetime.
But the thing that always brings me up short? I've actually driven the Belt Parkway. (Yeah, even Georgia rednecks are allowed to do it.) But if you haven't, imagine you're watching a movie. Everybody has seen a movie scene with a New York traffic jam. Some strange, alien energy force lifts all the cars on the Belt Parkway into the air and the traffic jam becomes airborne. Just imagine it.
Then imagine they are all given flight controls they can use. They can go forward, up, down, backwards -- heck -- we'll even say they can stop in mid-air. Hover. Now, instead of a 2 dimensional traffic jam you have a 3 dimensional one. Ready? Set? Go.
Just remember -- a fender bender will kill you. And the people on the ground below you.
Don
November 7, 2019
I'll pick on the New York Times because I have a digital subscription (I can't get a hard copy around here for miles and miles) and it's the last story I read. But you can pick (on) any flying car story you want. It ain't gonna happen.
"...within five years a fleet of them could provide a 10-minute trip from Manhattan to Kennedy International Airport for $70."
What makes anybody think they're going to get anything that flies within a mile of Kennedy (JFK)? Seriously? Do you think one of these things is going to fly you to your gate? To your terminal?
Here. I spun the image around so you can see what I'm talking about.
The red circle highlights the arrow showing which way is North. The red line/arrow points towards Manhattan, just like the departures that take off on runway 31L. If you were a big ol' jumbo jet taking off on runway 31L, you'd be pointed right at Manhattan to the west-northwest. That means you'd be flying right at that "fleet" of flying cars coming to JFK from Manhattan with all their passengers so happy they aren't stuck on the Belt Parkway.
Where are you going to land? Remember, your “"Jetsons”-like flying car" with it's "carbon fiber body" has a "36-foot wingspan". I know your magic carpet is going to land on the roof of Terminal 1 so you can visit Starbucks after shopping at Hermes, Princess, but where is the rest of the "fleet" supposed to park? After all, it says it right there in the article, this flying car thing "is not just a rich person’s toy".
Lets read a little more critically shall we people? I mean, somebody is supposed to believe in this fairy tale, right? This article did appear in the New York Times so there must be some kernel of reality in it, right?
"There aren’t enough air traffic controllers now to handle a big influx of flights across cities."
Oh dear. I always wonder of everybody else feels this way when a reporter starts talking about their own area of expertise. Tell you what. I'm not even going to bother. After all, these things are going to be automated so we'll just say they're going to automate the (non-existant) ATC system that will handle them too. After all, what could possibly go wrong?
Self-Driving Uber in Crash Wasn’t Designed to See Jaywalkers
Say again? How in God's name can you program an autonomous car and not think about jaywalkers? And you think these guys are going to automate flying? Above a densely-packed urban environment? In all kinds of weather? (Getting back to the flying car problem...)
"Executives say the company has completed hundreds of test flights and simulations, but none were held during the visit because of rain and wind."
Ah. So there is a touch of reality in this story.
I really don't mean to be the pessimist but, hey, somebody has to. I'm glad there are dreamers out their trying to accomplish the impossible. That's what the Wright Brothers were. I've watched the Lilium video. This thing is way cool. But affordable? Think of the energy requirements for vertical takeoff. Trip after trip, day after day, month after month. The wear and tear on the 36 engines. Maybe one day some energy breakthrough will make all this technically feasible. However, nobody has cracked the code in my lifetime.
But the thing that always brings me up short? I've actually driven the Belt Parkway. (Yeah, even Georgia rednecks are allowed to do it.) But if you haven't, imagine you're watching a movie. Everybody has seen a movie scene with a New York traffic jam. Some strange, alien energy force lifts all the cars on the Belt Parkway into the air and the traffic jam becomes airborne. Just imagine it.
Then imagine they are all given flight controls they can use. They can go forward, up, down, backwards -- heck -- we'll even say they can stop in mid-air. Hover. Now, instead of a 2 dimensional traffic jam you have a 3 dimensional one. Ready? Set? Go.
Just remember -- a fender bender will kill you. And the people on the ground below you.
Don
November 7, 2019
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