Comment on Amazon's drone delivery program is the joke it always sounded like.
You999@sh.itjust.works 10 months agoWe have flying cars, they are called airplanes or more specifically civil utility aircraft. You know, like the Cessna 172.
Flying vehicles aren’t more mainstream because of the cost. A new plane can cost over half a million dollars while a used plane can easily be over a hundred thousand dollars. And that’s just the cost of the plane.
The other reason is because the rules are more strict and are actually enforced. If a pilot flew their plane like the average person drives their car they would be sitting in jail await trail for attempt murder.
merc@sh.itjust.works 10 months ago
I think you’re missing the cars part of flying cars.
Like, the dream isn’t to drive your car to the airport and get into an airplane. The “car” part of flying cars is about having one in your driveway.
You can get a used Cessna for under $60k:
www.trade-a-plane.com/search?category_level1=Sing…
www.trade-a-plane.com/search?category_level1=Sing…
www.trade-a-plane.com/search?category_level1=Sing…
But, the issue isn’t the up-front cost. Because a plane isn’t a flying car, you have to store it somewhere, and that isn’t cheap. Even just tying it down outdoors can be more than $150/month. Then there are the operating costs, which are much higher than cars: insurance, annual inspections, fuel, maintenance, etc.
You999@sh.itjust.works 10 months ago
The Webster dictionary defines a car as a vehicle that moves on wheels which airplanes definitely are.
You can have your airplane in your driveway (or more commonly your grage). They are called fly-in communities and are more common than you think.
merc@sh.itjust.works 10 months ago
If you’re having to resort to the dictionary definition, you know you’re flailing.
The idea behind a flying car is that everyone could have one in their driveway (not the rare people who live in fly-in communities) and that they can use a combination of driving and flying to get places. That’s what all the flying-car companies are working towards, that’s what people dream of having. Having to live right next to an airport, or having to drive their car to the airport to get their plane isn’t the “flying car” dream.