The future is here: Flying cars to be a reality soon

• Larry Page’s flying car project Kitty Hawk was successfully tested.
  
• The test flight lasted for five minutes at a speed of 10 km/hr and 3 meters above the ground.
  
• Cora, the flying taxi project is also under development.

Science fiction writers gave birth to the concept of flying cars decades ago. A future where flying cars would be a reality did not seem impossible because technology was progressing in leaps and bounds. The movie Back to the Future II (1989) pegged flying cars as a reality by 2015. But then, 2015 came and went and we didn’t see flying cars.

But that’s the thing about humans, we are terribly resilient.

Come 2018 and we seem to have made some headway. After a first successful test flight of a flying car being accomplished recently, we can perhaps soon do what we would right now kill for - fly over traffic.

Larry Page’s flying car project Kitty Hawk recently completed a test flight. But this wasn't just a test flight, it was the first that was conducted by someone who is not a trained pilot. CNN reporter Rachel Crane was the one in the cockpit.


Frankly, the figures for the flight were not that impressive, but it counts when we take a look at the bigger picture. Let’s face it, even if we can afford flying cars in the future, how many of us are trained pilots or can hire trained pilots?

The flight lasted for five minutes and Crane flew at 10 km/hr, approximately 10 feet over a water body. But according to a report on futurism, Crane was able to get a hang of the flight controls just after a training session that lasted for less than an hour.


This test was a clear demonstration of how easy it would it be to fly a car after a commercial model hits the market.

The flyer is just the beginning of a larger plan to eliminate traffic on the ground entirely said Todd Reichert the lead engineer of the project. “We’re on sort of a story arc from recreation, to exploration, to transportation, and we will have to evolve along the way,” Reichert told Crane.

So while all is good so far, there are a few limitations before the company releases a commercial product. And these issues are:

• The Kitty Hawk Flyer, as of now, is a recreational vehicle, it cannot replace a family car any time soon.
• The battery life on this flyer is quite small. It can fly only for about 20 minutes on a full charge.
• Establishment of air traffic rules and control systems plus vehicle safety standards need to be set in place before it hits the market.
• If such a vehicle crashes or falls out of the sky when the battery runs out, it means certain death. Accepting such a death trap for day-to-day commute is going to be hard.

Another flyer called Cora is also under development and is a little closer to the dream flying car project. Cora is a two-seater electric aircraft which is intended to be used as flying taxis. Details on this project are, however, scarce.

The ‘future’ might seem closer than ever with Kitty Hawk which has answered most of our queries about flying cars. But the question remains - when will they really hit the market?

Image Source: CNBC