Flying cars- will they take off.

[johnboy1974]

The future is here right now for those of us with money.

Flying car cleared for takeoff - Yahoo! News UK

[super jumbe]

Not a bad idea, at present time no money for petrol!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Johnner]

SJ, at this time I think you should stay well clear of any flying objects !!

[GastonJ]

Been done lost of times, I remember Tomorrows World showing a Ford Pinto with wings back (must have been) the 1970's. Have to add though, planes measure their fuel usage in litres per mile not the other way around.

[johnboy1974]

Been done lost of times, I remember Tomorrows World showing a Ford Pinto with wings back (must have been) the 1970's. Have to add though, planes measure their fuel usage in litres per mile not the other way around.

For the super rich only methinks. If you can afford the car you can afford the fuel.

[TheCoder]

.... Have to add though, planes measure their fuel usage in litres per mile not the other way around.

Thats not really a rule !

Generally speaking, if you can get off the ground using a 2Litre engine (perfectly possible although not perhaps in a 'car' shaped plane) then it will give you a similar consumption to a 2Litre car. Also remember the 'as the crow flies' route is usually substantially shorter than a ground route over roads, leading to a potential efficiency. As an example, just look at how far a person can get with a microlight rig - several hundred miles on just a couple of litres at an airspeed of 20-30mph (equivelent to 50mph+ overland) !

[GastonJ]

and taking off and landing will be a very tricky point. Not to mention the pilots license, bad enough that people don't bother with a license and insurance for a car let alone one that can fly. I'd hardly compare it to a microlight rig tho, since you don't carry over a ton of crap in one and they generally only have 1 person in them.

The Cessna C172 generally burns 7 gallons/hour at a cruise speed of 107 knots. So, 15 nautical miles per gallon (107/7) is a very general answer. This converts to approximately 17.6 miles per gallon. Keep in mind this is a general statement and can vary based on atmospheric conditions, cruise altitude, and wind speeds.

So to beat my car which does just over 50mpg, the plane would have to be flying in quite a straight line to save anything (from here to London is 214 miles by road, and as the crow flies is 150 miles), and that's an aerodynamic plane that's built to fly.