In a relatively short time, the dreams of sci-fi and Jetson fans will finally be realized: the flying car has arrived. (I can just hear the collective groan of the environmental community.)
Let me repeat that: someone has finally designed a flying car. According to Newsweek, in two years MIT student Carl Dietrich plans to have his flying car (named the Transition) on the road and in the air, and selling for about $100,000:
The Transition runs on regular gas. But you can drive it to the airport, extend its origami-like wings, take off at double the highway speed and fly up to 500 miles away, then touch down and park it in your host's garage. With the wings folded, the Transition is about the size of an Escalade, with a little less cargo space. Of course, it's a little more difficult to maneuver -- it requires a sport pilot's license -- so it's not likely to replace your standard flightless car. "It's not like every Joe Schmo and soccer mom on a cell phone is going to be driving one," says Dietrich, an MIT grad student who won the school's top prize for young innovators.
And just to top that, his next project will be: a desktop nuclear-fusion reactor. Really. Read the press release.
(Via BB)
Comments
View as Flat
birdboy Posted 11:05 am
04 Mar 2006
My particular vision (go ahead- shoot holes in it- that's how ideas get transformed into reality, right?)- is to use some form of pressurized tube or rail, perhaps a product of genetic engineering, grown organicly, like an above-ground, hollow root system. The air pressure could be produced by any source of energy, including human power. We could earn transportation credit by working out at a gym on the grid, which conveys the pressure generated by a bunch of energetic, healthy humans to the transportation system, which moves people around instead of moving both people and engines while burning fuel. Imagine- no healthy human is ever denied public transportation- he just has to work for it. Rich fat-asses could pay for it; disabled and elderly get a free ride, courtesy of the young and healthy. It just feels good.
I'm off to build a scale-model. Later.
a liberal in redsville
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amazingdrx Posted 3:35 pm
04 Mar 2006
It's a flying wing that expands into a lighter than air craft. The only drawback is it has to be quite a bit larger than the flying car. But it runs on solar power.
It would be a delta wing about 100 feet in span and 40 feet from tip to tail and about 6 feet thick. There would be a hard shell on the top and bottom that separate when a helium balloom expands inside in order to climb to altitude.
Solar energy would come in through collectors built into the top surface of the wing and produce electricty to run large pusher props, as well as heat the helium. The double lift from helium as well as the hot air baloon effect, gives a lot of lift from a space only 20 feet high.
When the airship reaches maximum operating altitude, basically rising straight up with little forward motion, the helium is recompressed into storage tanks and the baloon retracts and it turns back into a heavier than air wing that glides and uses the pusher props to get to it's destination.
Batteries could be charged and helium heated before takeoff from ground energy sources like solar and wind also.
Another great feature is vertial take off and landing (if necessary), although landing by gliding in (on water would be best)would be the preferred method as it would be more efficient.
Would this make airports and even roads unecessary? I think so. Larger versions could be used for cargo and passenger service.
Wind plants and modular solar homes could be airlifted with larger models right into roadless locations. Goodbye highways....turn them into local bike trails.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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Biodiversivist Posted 12:19 am
05 Mar 2006
http://www.roadabletimes.com/roadables-modular_aerocar.html
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Help acquire and protect ecological hotspots, give to a conservation organization: http://www.saveourbiodiversity.com
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FourLocks Posted 9:49 pm
06 Mar 2006
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