{"id":11395,"date":"2017-04-24T23:16:27","date_gmt":"2017-04-25T06:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=11395"},"modified":"2017-04-24T23:16:27","modified_gmt":"2017-04-25T06:16:27","slug":"larry-page-and-his-water-skimming-flying-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/larry-page-and-his-water-skimming-flying-car\/","title":{"rendered":"Larry Page and his Water-Skimming “Flying Car”"},"content":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s the definition of a \u201cflying car?\u201d\u00a0 Does it need four wheels and quick-deploying wings to meet the definition?\u00a0 Engineers at Kitty Hawk, a Larry Page-funded company, showed some major sales points for what looks to be an easy-to-fly, somewhat whimsical electrically-driven octorotor.\u00a0 The Verge<\/em> reports<\/a> that, \u201cKitty Hawk promises people will be able to learn to fly the Flyer \u201cin minutes.\u201d A consumer version will be available by the end of this year, the company says.\u201d<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lMma4c2SPdY<\/p>\n

The New York Times<\/em><\/a> was a bit whimsical in describing the machine.\u00a0 \u201cKitty Hawk\u2019s flying car, if you insisted on calling it a \u201ccar,\u201d looked like something Luke Skywalker would have built out of spare parts. It was an open-seated, 220-pound contraption with room for one person, powered by eight battery-powered propellers that howled as loudly as a speedboat.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also very much a ground effects machine, built to be used over water, but apparently without the necessary poop on the poop deck to summit distant hills.\u00a0 The noise would keep it from flying over neighborhoods without angry residents waving offensive hand signs and possibly weapons.\u00a0 Indeed, the company says it\u2019s designed to fly over \u201cuncongested areas\u201d and without the need for a pilot\u2019s license, the craft\u2019s light weight making it an \u201cultralight,\u201d at least by weight.<\/p>\n

A noisy machine will blend in well with other water-borne recreational vehicles, and this is offered as a first version of what seems to be a coming series of \u201cflying cars.\u201d\u00a0 Due to hit the market, and probably Nieman Marcus catalogs later this year, the Flyer doesn\u2019t have an official price as yet.\u00a0 You can, however, put $100 down today to get a $2,000 discount on the final price.<\/p>\n

What this, and other similarly configured devices show, is that controllability doesn\u2019t seem to be an issue.\u00a0 Even with the pilot above the eight rotors, the machine doesn\u2019t seem to tip over from extreme leaning or banking.\u00a0 Microprocessors and clever software programs probably account for much of this.\u00a0 It might be nice, though, to put some protective covering over the rotors, just to protect those souls that more irresponsible pilots might overfly.<\/p>\n

It will be even more interesting to see what route this initial outing follows as Kitty Hawk\u2019s offerings become more ambitious.<\/p>\n