Are roadable aircraft the future of motoring? Our editor, David, thinks so, but our senior writer, Jeremy, disagrees.
CARS do take off from the tarmac every now and then. Rally machines and touring racecars, for instance, or the occasional F1 guided missiles and street-legal supercars. The flying car, however, is something else altogether. It’s an airplane that can really taxi, all the way between the nearest airstrip and your home/ offi ce garage.
It’s like a large car, but with tail fins, folded wings and a propeller or two. This is fly-drive for daily life. American firm Terrafugia has a working prototype, called Transition, that shows how the flying car concept could take off – literally and as a business.
The Transition’s 100bhp 1352cc Rotax aviation engine, which runs on ordinary unleaded petrol, powers the propeller in the air (up to 160km/h) and the rear wheels on the road (up to 105km/h), with the cockpit having dual controls – a yoke and rudder pedals, along with a steering wheel and brake/accelerator pedals. Avionics and flight instruments accompany the usual displays and devices required for driving. The pilot and passenger have airbags, while the vehicle has its own parachute on standby for Mayday situations.
To go airborne, the Terrafugia Transition needs about 500m of runway, so Lim Chu Kang Road should suffi ce. That flying car takes one minute to convert, but these two Torque staff ers will take a few minutes longer to discuss whether roadable aircraft are the future of motoring…
JEREMY CHUA (JC): I cannot see how roadable aircraft will become the future of motoring. There are too many safety issues. But before we get to that, won’t drivers also need to earn their wings? That would take much longer than learning how to drive.
DAVID TING (DT): I don’t think it’ll be much harder than getting a Class 5 driving licence for very heavy vehicles. To operate a flying car, you don’t need to be a commercial pilot who drives Airbuses, lah. The Private Pilot’s Licence off ered by reputable flying clubs in Seletar and Johor should be good enough.
JC: Apart from new terminology (like pitch, yaw, roll), you’d probably need a physics lesson or two as well. But I’ve got more questions. Where else can you perform take-off and landing manoeuvres? Will there be EAP (Electronic Air Pricing)?
DT: Drivers are already familiar with pitch, yaw and roll, which apply to cars and planes alike. As for places to take-off and land, we should let the relevant authorities sort it out. EAP is a possibility, to minimise air traffi c congestion caused by flying cars, but it’ll just be one of the costs associated with the revolutionary mode of motoring.
JC: The biggest potential cost that “airborne” motorists will have to bear is from injuries and property damage due to accidents. There are already too many reckless drivers on the roads. Imagine the destruction that a flying vehicle could wreak. There are cases of cars crashing into coff ee shops, you know. I live on the 11th floor, and I sure don’t want a car flying into my living room!
DT: The dangers won’t be greater than those associated with civil aviation and air force training/missions. I’m confident that folks with flying-car licences would be careful, competent and considerate, certainly more so than all those idiots “qualified” to drive in an idiotic manner.
JC: I admire your optimism and wish your scenario could come true. The reality, however, is that the air traffic situation would be no better than ground traffic conditions. Safety concerns aside, the cost of roadable aircraft will be sky-high. That means only high-flyers, and not regular drivers like you and me, will be able to fly-drive. DT: Alamak, looks like my future “flight” as a motorist will be delayed indefinitely before it gets cancelled.
