Is that superman or a flying car?
Just in case it’s gone over your head, there’s been a fair bit of news recently about flying cars and the fact that they’re about to take off.
As this could, in years to come, seem like a ludicrous prediction (in 1992, it was predicted that by now we’d have smellovisions - tvs that give off smells…), I won’t give too much opinion on the likelihood or not of flying cars. I don’t want to look ludicrous after all. Instead, here’s an overview of recent news on the subject.
According to UK company, Gilo Industries Group, “the world’s first practical flying car” was created by them in 2009. This is the company that helped Bear Grylls fly over Mount Everest by strapping him to a paramotor – a fairly good credential. And as a further vote of confidence for this company, it has just received a £24 million investment from Chinese technology group, Kuang-Chi to double its workforce of 60.
Dubbed ‘the Disneyland of engineering’, Gilo Industries Group also sounds a fun place to work. Forget the tired Cycle to Work scheme, the company has a Fly to Work scheme which gives employees the chance to fly to work by paramotor.
Meanwhile a Dutch company says it has created a flying car fully in line with existing air and road regulations. The model has two 100 horsepower engines and can go 110 mph in the air and 100 mph on the road. And it takes just 10 minutes to get airborne (wouldn’t want to rely on this as a flying getaway car just yet).
This beauty will be available in 2018 – you just need around $400,000 for the most basic version and a private pilot’s license.
But perhaps the most convincing peek at the possibility of a flying car is news that ride sharing firm Uber, plans to develop and test a network of flying cars by 2020. It’s currently working with aviation companies Embraer and Bell Helicopter to develop the model. What’s more Uber hopes to be transporting customers, flying them over congested roads, by 2023, well under a decade away.
Just watch this space – that includes the space above your head by the way.
As this could, in years to come, seem like a ludicrous prediction (in 1992, it was predicted that by now we’d have smellovisions - tvs that give off smells…), I won’t give too much opinion on the likelihood or not of flying cars. I don’t want to look ludicrous after all. Instead, here’s an overview of recent news on the subject.
According to UK company, Gilo Industries Group, “the world’s first practical flying car” was created by them in 2009. This is the company that helped Bear Grylls fly over Mount Everest by strapping him to a paramotor – a fairly good credential. And as a further vote of confidence for this company, it has just received a £24 million investment from Chinese technology group, Kuang-Chi to double its workforce of 60.
Dubbed ‘the Disneyland of engineering’, Gilo Industries Group also sounds a fun place to work. Forget the tired Cycle to Work scheme, the company has a Fly to Work scheme which gives employees the chance to fly to work by paramotor.
Meanwhile a Dutch company says it has created a flying car fully in line with existing air and road regulations. The model has two 100 horsepower engines and can go 110 mph in the air and 100 mph on the road. And it takes just 10 minutes to get airborne (wouldn’t want to rely on this as a flying getaway car just yet).
This beauty will be available in 2018 – you just need around $400,000 for the most basic version and a private pilot’s license.
But perhaps the most convincing peek at the possibility of a flying car is news that ride sharing firm Uber, plans to develop and test a network of flying cars by 2020. It’s currently working with aviation companies Embraer and Bell Helicopter to develop the model. What’s more Uber hopes to be transporting customers, flying them over congested roads, by 2023, well under a decade away.
Just watch this space – that includes the space above your head by the way.
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