1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:14,200 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with iHeart Radio and 4 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: I love all things tech and is time for another 5 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 1: classic episode of tech Stuff. This one originally published back 6 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 1: on December two, two thousand thirteen. It is titled Where's 7 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,400 Speaker 1: My Flying Car. I don't know how I resisted the 8 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:34,920 Speaker 1: urge to title it dude, where's my Flying Car? But 9 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: somehow I did. Anyway, as you may guess, this is 10 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: an episode about flying cars and why ain't they everywhere already? 11 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: Gosh darn it, let's listen in if this is the future, 12 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 1: Where's my flying car? Where's my jet flying car? Why 13 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:54,400 Speaker 1: are my meals in pill form? It's because jet packs 14 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: and flying cars are really dangerous. Yeah, they're not practical 15 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: very much, and at least not yet, and they're really 16 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 1: tricky to do in a way that is safe. You know, 17 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: even if you're talking about completely automating it, and we're 18 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: going to talk about some cars where they're taking that approach, 19 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: where they're making it as automated as possible, it's you know, 20 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:16,399 Speaker 1: it's there's a lot of logistics to work through. I mean, 21 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: just imagine, like in my neighborhood alone, if I had 22 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,279 Speaker 1: a flying car and it was all automated and everything, 23 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: and it could detect other flying cars, I still have 24 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: to worry about things like power lines. And we don't 25 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,759 Speaker 1: have autonomous cars that go on a two dimensional plane yet. 26 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:37,959 Speaker 1: So I mean adding that third dimension is more complicated 27 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:41,440 Speaker 1: than it probably sounds. So the flying car, I mean, 28 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 1: obviously that's been something in science fiction. What might surprise 29 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 1: you is how old the concept of a flying car is. 30 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: It did not take very long after the invention of 31 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: both cars and planes for someone to say, hey, wouldn't 32 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: it be awesome if a car was also a plane. 33 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,600 Speaker 1: Uh So back in eighteen eighty five, that's when you 34 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: get your first gasoline powered automobile, which was invented by 35 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:10,680 Speaker 1: a fellow named Carl Friedrich Benz and Mercedes Benz. And 36 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: then in nineteen o three we had the first flight 37 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,320 Speaker 1: of the Right brothers, right, which, depending upon your view 38 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: of history, was the first you know, uh, solid like 39 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 1: heavier than air flight. Uh. There's definitely some debate there, 40 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:29,359 Speaker 1: but generally in the historical ranks, generally speaking, people say 41 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,400 Speaker 1: nineteen O three first flight. At any rate, it was 42 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:34,679 Speaker 1: right around that time. So eighteen eighty five was the 43 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 1: first gasoline powered automobile. Keep in mind that there were 44 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 1: other types of automobile, steam powered, electric powered ones, but 45 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:46,239 Speaker 1: gasolene powered started in the late nineteenth century early twentieth century. 46 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 1: You get the Right Brothers, So how long did it 47 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: take before someone came up with an idea of making 48 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:57,799 Speaker 1: up car slash plane? Seventeen fourteen years after the Right 49 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: Brothers flew, someone says, clearly, awesome, two things can be combined, right, 50 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: this is the chocolate and peanut butter of the technological age. 51 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: They must become one. And that person was but Glenn Curtis. 52 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 1: He created the Curtis auto Plane. Then the names of 53 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 1: these things, by the way, are my favorite that they 54 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: really only get better. Yeah, it's sort of like what 55 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,119 Speaker 1: you encounter when you when you look at steampunk, where 56 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: people come up with the most creative uh, goofy goofy, 57 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: like like multi collaborate names. So the Curtis auto Plane 58 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:36,800 Speaker 1: wasn't really a true flying car and what we would 59 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: think of today, right, it didn't look like a car 60 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: that could suddenly take off and you wouldn't he have 61 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: Doc Brown say where we're going, we don't need roads, 62 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: and then you have the big Back to the Future 63 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: music come up. It's it looked more like a plane 64 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: that you could sort of drive around if you needed to. Um. 65 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: So it was a plane, a small plane, relatively small 66 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: plane with a forty foot wingspans about twelve point, thank 67 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: you very much. And it had a rear mounted four 68 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: bladed propellers, so the propellers on the back of the 69 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 1: plane and so have on the front of it, which 70 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: is fairly common in a lot of the designs will 71 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: be talking about today. Um and uh. But but it 72 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 1: never really flew, now, it just kind of hopped off 73 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 1: the ground a couple of times, never really caught flight. 74 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 1: So if you ever watch any of those kind of 75 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 1: like a toddler going and flying and started jumping really hard. Yeah, 76 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: if you look at any of those old timey movies 77 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:30,720 Speaker 1: where people were working on the early early versions of airplanes, 78 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:33,160 Speaker 1: and you see lots of planes that get a little 79 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:35,320 Speaker 1: bit off the ground and then immediately come right back down, 80 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,279 Speaker 1: that's kind of what this thing did. It never never 81 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: attained true flight, to be fair. At the time, I 82 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:43,239 Speaker 1: think that a lot of especially kind of hobbyist created 83 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,599 Speaker 1: planes exactly. We're just you know, we're really just hopping. 84 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,919 Speaker 1: So that probably wasn't terrible for no, for a first 85 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,240 Speaker 1: attempt at making a car that was also a plane. 86 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: Not bad, not great, but not bad. And it would 87 00:04:56,440 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: take another twenty years before someone would create something similar, 88 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,040 Speaker 1: or at least according to all the research I was doing, 89 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: there probably were other people, hobbyists, mechanics engineers who are 90 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,640 Speaker 1: trying to do the sort of thing, but not all 91 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: of their attempts have been recorded for posterity's sake. But 92 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 1: in ninety seven, a Waldo Waterman created the aero bile 93 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 1: or aerobill or aerobilly anyways, it was. It was a 94 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: student baker, which, as we all know from the Muppet 95 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:32,039 Speaker 1: movie is a bear's natural habitat, so student baker not. 96 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: If you were to look at a picture of a 97 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 1: student baker, I don't think the first thing that you 98 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: would think is that looks like that sucker could fly 99 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:43,480 Speaker 1: through the air. And yet Waldo Waterman was determined, Yeah, 100 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: this one was that was a three wheeled car, but 101 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: the wheels were detachable. Yeah, well had detachable wheels and 102 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,359 Speaker 1: a rear mounted propeller, and it never ended up getting 103 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 1: uh sufficient funding. The wings itself were also detachable. That's 104 00:05:57,800 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: also a very common thing and a lot of these 105 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:02,800 Speaker 1: early designs where you know, you would take all the 106 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:05,080 Speaker 1: parts that you didn't need off for it to be 107 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 1: a car, and then once you got to wherever, them 108 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:10,360 Speaker 1: in a very large trunk and run. Yeah, or a 109 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,360 Speaker 1: trailer that you would tow behind the car get to 110 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: wherever you're going, Like whatever airstrip you're going to put 111 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 1: your plane together, Yeah, you'd actually have to assembol it 112 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: and then it would be a plane. So it was, 113 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 1: which is something that is very worrying for me. I 114 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:25,200 Speaker 1: have to say, guys, I I personally do not have 115 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: the kind of engineering background to really feel comfortable flying 116 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:31,040 Speaker 1: in something that I have just built. Can you imagine 117 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: looking into the trailer and you're seeing like three or 118 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: four just random nuts and bolts in there and think 119 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:39,279 Speaker 1: that's good enough? You know it's because it could be 120 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,159 Speaker 1: like going to Ikea, like you put your furniture together 121 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 1: and you're like, it's always a few spare bits, and 122 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 1: you're like, well, you didn't say that we're spare bits, 123 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:48,720 Speaker 1: But I could have sworn I followed the instructions. Yet 124 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: that was sort of what these early flying cars were 125 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,040 Speaker 1: like too. So really, you're gonna notice while we talk 126 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:57,479 Speaker 1: about this, so for these early ones, it's going to 127 00:06:57,520 --> 00:06:59,839 Speaker 1: sound more and more like it was a plane that 128 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:04,160 Speaker 1: converted into a vehicle that could travel on Rhods. That's 129 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 1: the case for most of these early ones. Robert Edison 130 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,800 Speaker 1: Fulton Jr. A distant relative to another Fulton we talked 131 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: about in how steam engines were Yeah, the steamboat, the 132 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,360 Speaker 1: steamboat Fulton. Yeah, so steamboat Fulton was not He was 133 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: not a direct descendant of Robert Fulton, the steamboat engineer. Uh. 134 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: Robert Fulton, I believe had one son who never had 135 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 1: any kids, but several daughters. But obviously you wouldn't have 136 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: the last name Fulton through that line, So we're talking 137 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: like a cousin distantly related in that sense. But still 138 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 1: his dad was a friend to a certain Thomas Edison, 139 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: which is why Edison had had the Edison in his name. Um, yeah, 140 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 1: I would guess that if it were Robert Nicola Fulton, 141 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: we would all be just fawning over him because of 142 00:07:54,240 --> 00:08:00,520 Speaker 1: Tesla's and I know we both lost some geek cred 143 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:06,120 Speaker 1: there I think anyway, His version was an aluminum body 144 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:09,880 Speaker 1: car that had detachable fabric wings to turn it into 145 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: a light plane, and it also had a detachable propeller 146 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: that would serve as propulsion. And they built four prototypes 147 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 1: but it never went into production. UM and the following year, 148 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 1: Consolidated Vaulty developed the convert Car, which was a two 149 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 1: door sedan with detachable airplane unit. So in this case, 150 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 1: it's like an entire kind of airplane kit that you 151 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,040 Speaker 1: could fit on top of this car. And they had 152 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:41,080 Speaker 1: some success, at least, well, they had limited early success 153 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: with their with their tests. Didn't think, Yeah, yeah, they 154 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:47,360 Speaker 1: had two successful tests. Um, they had two successful tests. 155 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: Improved they could they could fly for about an hour 156 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:53,320 Speaker 1: and travel it around forty five seventy two I'm sorry, 157 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: not forty five. I could travel a total distance of 158 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,679 Speaker 1: forty five miles or seventy two kilometers on a gallon 159 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 1: of gas. Us. But it was pretty good. Yeah, so 160 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:06,839 Speaker 1: to flights going pretty slow, but unfortunately the third flight 161 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 1: not so successful. Yeah, and that that was pretty much 162 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:13,040 Speaker 1: the end of the project, right. They were trying to 163 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 1: get some marketing dollars behind it. After the crash that 164 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:19,360 Speaker 1: was a complete disaster for them, and it was it 165 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:21,800 Speaker 1: was scrapped. They decided not to go forward with it. 166 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:28,079 Speaker 1: Molten B. Taylor builds the Arrow Car, which was actually 167 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: inspired by Robert Edison Fulton Junior's design. It also had 168 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 1: detachable wings and a detachable tail so they could stash 169 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: those in a in a trailer. Yeah, this is one 170 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 1: of those that you would put all those parts in 171 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: a trailer, tow it to the airport, then take everything out, 172 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:47,800 Speaker 1: assemble it on the car. And according to the Wall 173 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: Street Journal, a practiced owner could assemble the Erow car 174 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 1: from into flying form within ten minutes. Ten minutes to 175 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 1: turn into an airplane. I can't assemble a microwave dinner 176 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 1: and ten I don't. I certainly anyone who watched me 177 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:07,680 Speaker 1: play Minecraft knows ten minutes is not enough time for 178 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:12,160 Speaker 1: me to assemble anything. This was another tail end propeller. Yeah, 179 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:14,400 Speaker 1: and it looks like a mini car and only six 180 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:16,320 Speaker 1: were ever built. In fact, one of them I think 181 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:20,080 Speaker 1: was current, was on the market recently for just over 182 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:23,199 Speaker 1: like a million dollars or something like. It actually looks 183 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:27,199 Speaker 1: very quaint, like it looks like a quaint little antique 184 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 1: car that for some reason has had an airplane tail 185 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:33,440 Speaker 1: merged onto the end of it and wings that sprouted 186 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: out of it. So yeah, but if you, if you, 187 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: you could easily imagine removing those and it would look 188 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:42,360 Speaker 1: like a little Yeah. So this one was more of 189 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 1: a car, although again you could not, you know, effortlessly 190 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 1: convert to flying form, which is really what we're going 191 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:51,000 Speaker 1: for here, right. We want a car that you could 192 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:53,240 Speaker 1: drive on the streets and then when traffic is getting 193 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: really badly you put sug button and it transforms like 194 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:58,600 Speaker 1: in an anime, and it would be a while and 195 00:10:58,679 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 1: still would will be a while before we'd see something 196 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:06,040 Speaker 1: like that. Uh So, nineteen sixty, Paul Mahler introduces the 197 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:08,960 Speaker 1: x M two. Now Maller will be well, we'll go 198 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:13,040 Speaker 1: ahead and tell Mahler's story. It's kind of a disappointing story. 199 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 1: But the x M two was the first prototype of 200 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:19,079 Speaker 1: his sky car concept that one would hover, but he 201 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:22,559 Speaker 1: couldn't get it to fly. So he would continue to 202 00:11:22,559 --> 00:11:27,679 Speaker 1: to kind of refine this design, and in nine was 203 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 1: the first one. Nine he introduces the M two hundred X, 204 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 1: which could fly in an altitude of about fifteen meters 205 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 1: or around fifty feet, and then he would later introduce 206 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:41,560 Speaker 1: the sky car M four hundred, which is a vertical 207 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:44,880 Speaker 1: takeoff and landing aircraft vt o L vertical takeoff or 208 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:50,480 Speaker 1: landing really, which could reach speeds theoretically of four hundred 209 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:53,760 Speaker 1: miles per hour or six hundred forty four kilometers power. 210 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:57,680 Speaker 1: But the cruising speed. Yeah, can you imagine your average 211 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:01,320 Speaker 1: motorists controlling a vehicle traveling traveling at that speed, I 212 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:04,760 Speaker 1: literally cannot have the cruising speed. Now that was the 213 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: top speed. The cruising speed was three miles per Oh, 214 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 1: well that's much better, yeah, or five hundred sixty three 215 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:15,520 Speaker 1: kilometers per hour. Fuel for the vehicle included simple simple 216 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:21,599 Speaker 1: household items yasolene was one diesel okay, alcohol okay, kerosene 217 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: and propane all at the same time. Yeah. Well it's 218 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 1: you know, because it was using some pretty powerful sure 219 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:30,640 Speaker 1: which which also yeah, exactly, the average voters just has 220 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:32,440 Speaker 1: those lying around all right, exactly. You know, you can 221 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 1: just go to one filling station and find all of those. 222 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,720 Speaker 1: Some filling stations you might, but not many had a 223 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,200 Speaker 1: range of about nine hundred miles, which is about hundred 224 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:44,600 Speaker 1: fifty kilometers. Is that the same as it's car mode range. 225 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:48,000 Speaker 1: Uh no, no, it's Kira mode at a mileage of 226 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:50,960 Speaker 1: twenty miles per gallon or thirty two point two kilometers 227 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:54,120 Speaker 1: per gallon. I know, really usually do leaders per kilometer, 228 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:56,920 Speaker 1: but there's only so much conversion I can do. Guys, 229 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:01,080 Speaker 1: I have to apologize for my American nous. But the 230 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 1: initial price for the M four hundred was quoted to 231 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:09,600 Speaker 1: be a millions Macarou's one million bucks. But the promises 232 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:12,880 Speaker 1: of Muller never quite panned out. So in two thousand 233 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:17,000 Speaker 1: three they did a demonstration where the M four hundred hovered, 234 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:19,520 Speaker 1: but it hovered on a tether like it was tethered 235 00:13:19,559 --> 00:13:23,439 Speaker 1: to the ground. It did not fly. Um, so it 236 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 1: wasn't really awe inspiring or giving a lot of people 237 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:29,640 Speaker 1: confidence in the project. And in fact, by two thousand 238 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:33,160 Speaker 1: nine they still didn't have a flying car to show off, 239 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:36,400 Speaker 1: and Maller ended up filing for personal protection under Chapter 240 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 1: eleven as in bankruptcy. Turned out apparently the company had 241 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:45,960 Speaker 1: spent something like one hundred million dollars over forty years 242 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,560 Speaker 1: trying to get this flying car designed to work, and 243 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:52,960 Speaker 1: it had not happened hundred million bucks. So yeah, it 244 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 1: was definitely a tough, tough story. Now, Maller, while he 245 00:13:57,040 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 1: filed for protection under Chapter eleven, the company, Maller International 246 00:14:01,679 --> 00:14:04,120 Speaker 1: is still from why I understand, still operating in a 247 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 1: very limited capacity. So the company didn't go away, but 248 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:11,240 Speaker 1: Maller certainly had to look for some financial protection after 249 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:14,719 Speaker 1: after just not being able to turn this around. Now 250 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:16,840 Speaker 1: that leads us up to the last one we're going 251 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: to talk about before our break. Uh. It dates back 252 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:24,040 Speaker 1: to two thousand one, the Skywriter X two R. So 253 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:28,280 Speaker 1: this one is designed by Macro Industries Incorporated, and it's 254 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:31,720 Speaker 1: another VT O L type of vehicle, and this one 255 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:36,480 Speaker 1: uses ducted fans as propulsion instead of propellers. So, uh, 256 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 1: it kind of looks like like a casual glance, you 257 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,120 Speaker 1: would look and say, oh, those are turbines, but they're 258 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:45,560 Speaker 1: not actually turbines. So it's around casing. On the inside 259 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:48,880 Speaker 1: of this casing is a fan blade and those fans 260 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:52,360 Speaker 1: turn and provide the lift, and you can tilt the 261 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,080 Speaker 1: ducts in different directions so that you can do the 262 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 1: vertical takeoff and landing, or tilt them forward so that 263 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 1: you get that forward propulsion like I like a hover carrier. Yeah, 264 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:06,680 Speaker 1: that's a little hover carrier thing. According to the website, 265 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:10,479 Speaker 1: they were the car would have lots of dynamic routing information, 266 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: so it would allow it to plan out a route 267 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 1: that would keep it clear from the pathway of other 268 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:20,120 Speaker 1: flying car motorists, because they actually said their goal is 269 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:22,920 Speaker 1: to make the flying car reality for the average consumer. 270 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:24,920 Speaker 1: But of course, you know, to you and I, we 271 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 1: just sit there and think about Atlanta traffic right now. 272 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 1: Just imagine the traffic that's passing past our building right now. 273 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: Sometimes you guys can hear it. I know you can 274 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:37,280 Speaker 1: well imagine all of that traffic in the air. That's 275 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: kind of terrifying, completely terrifying. Although by two thousand one, 276 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 1: certainly we were starting to get into computer systems that 277 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:47,360 Speaker 1: would at least help you detect some of that little right. 278 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:49,680 Speaker 1: So the idea is that it would have a lot 279 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 1: of automated systems to help prevent collisions, to help you 280 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:56,640 Speaker 1: plan a flight path that wouldn't put you across someone 281 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 1: else's flight path. Uh, you know, And of course as 282 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:03,360 Speaker 1: technology has advanced, we've got better with like collision detection 283 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 1: and prevention, that kind of stuff. Automated systems that can 284 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 1: take over in case a manual accident is about to happen. 285 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 1: So things have gotten to the point where you could 286 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,800 Speaker 1: kind of see a reality here, but it's one that's 287 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:18,640 Speaker 1: kind of early. Yeah yeah, And you know, I I 288 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:21,720 Speaker 1: heard a little bit about this and it sounds like 289 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: a kind of solid plan. Where did did this one 290 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:28,680 Speaker 1: actually happen? They said that the first models of this 291 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:32,000 Speaker 1: car would be available within five years the project receiving 292 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 1: adequate funding. As far as they can tell, the project 293 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:38,720 Speaker 1: has yet to receive what they call adequate funding, So uh, 294 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: that five years is kind of the perpetual five years 295 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,520 Speaker 1: off from now, just like most technological advances are ten 296 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:50,040 Speaker 1: to forty years away, and it's it's always gonna yeah. Now, 297 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:53,000 Speaker 1: maybe they'll end up getting enough funding where they'll become 298 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 1: a real player in the space, but as far as 299 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:57,560 Speaker 1: I can tell, it's kind of one of those vaporware 300 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 1: type things. And was this another one that was more 301 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: more like an aircraft that drives than a Yeah yeah, 302 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:05,439 Speaker 1: I mean it looks more like a plane than it 303 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:07,040 Speaker 1: does a car. It looks like it looks like a 304 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 1: plane that's small enough when everything folds up for it 305 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:12,600 Speaker 1: to fit into your garage, as opposed to a car 306 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:15,639 Speaker 1: that can turn into a flying machine. It looks like 307 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:18,120 Speaker 1: a plane that can be driven on the roads right, right, 308 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: and not the kind of thing that you'd expect to 309 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 1: take out onto the highways and drive around in traffic. Right. Hi, guys, 310 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:27,680 Speaker 1: it's Jonathan from twenty. I apologize for my hovering. That's 311 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,480 Speaker 1: a flying card joke. But we need to take a 312 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:41,840 Speaker 1: quick break, all right, So we're back now. The next 313 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:45,439 Speaker 1: car on our list is one of my favorites because 314 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: it's so different from all the other ones we've been 315 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:50,560 Speaker 1: mentioning so far. Like all the ones we've talked about 316 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:54,720 Speaker 1: either had some sort of VT O L system where 317 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:57,320 Speaker 1: they were going to hover and take off and then 318 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:00,159 Speaker 1: fly forward, right, which I'm actually kind of impressed by. 319 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:01,920 Speaker 1: I think that that a vto L would be a 320 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,160 Speaker 1: little bit more difficult to engineer, and therefore, yeah, it's 321 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:07,639 Speaker 1: got some challenges, but it would assume you could get 322 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:09,399 Speaker 1: it to work, it would be way easier for your 323 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:12,200 Speaker 1: average driver, right, because it wouldn't mean that you wouldn't 324 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:15,440 Speaker 1: have to go find a long strap in air strips 325 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:17,399 Speaker 1: so that you could get up to enough speed to 326 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: get lift and then take off. This would allow you 327 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 1: to convenient Yeah, Yeah, you're at a standstill, you lift up, 328 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:25,919 Speaker 1: you fly off where you want to go. And I 329 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 1: think you need to be at a standstill with some 330 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: you know, like hundred feet of clear space around you 331 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:34,080 Speaker 1: so that you didn't you know, destroy your surrounding. My 332 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:37,960 Speaker 1: precision is amazing. I am fully confident I could take 333 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:42,520 Speaker 1: off from like a crowded parking lot with tiny scratches. Maybe. 334 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:46,720 Speaker 1: So we're talking about now the Parajet skycr and the 335 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:50,960 Speaker 1: Parajet skycar is one of my favorites. Parajet, you kind 336 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:53,679 Speaker 1: of get the feeling here. There's a para sail or 337 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:57,680 Speaker 1: a parachute that is attached to essentially a dune buggy. 338 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,240 Speaker 1: So it looks like something that came out out of 339 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,040 Speaker 1: Mad Max, right, like, you know, you could take this 340 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:06,800 Speaker 1: to the Thunderdome in style and um, and it has 341 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:09,320 Speaker 1: this para sale that you can deploy, and on the 342 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:11,920 Speaker 1: very back of the dune buggy is an enormous fan. 343 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:14,480 Speaker 1: So it looks a lot like like like one of 344 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:18,600 Speaker 1: those everglades and boat boats and the kind of archer likes, 345 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:21,200 Speaker 1: yeah exactly would be one of those. So it's the 346 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:23,280 Speaker 1: stune buggy with the fan on the back. And the 347 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:26,439 Speaker 1: parasale that you deploy, And the way it works is 348 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,159 Speaker 1: that you would if you wanted to actually fly, you 349 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 1: would take the parasale part out, lay it behind the car, 350 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:36,560 Speaker 1: start up your fan, and then start driving and once 351 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:39,040 Speaker 1: you hit about thirty seven miles per hour or sixty 352 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:42,880 Speaker 1: kilometers per hour, you would have enough lift there from 353 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:45,880 Speaker 1: the para sale to lift off the ground and use 354 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: the fan to control your pitch and your role. That 355 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: sounds so terrifying but wonderful. The videos of this thing 356 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 1: I absolutely adore. Now, granted again you don't have any wings, 357 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:01,120 Speaker 1: so it's not like a you know, air lane slash car. 358 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:03,160 Speaker 1: This is a car that has a pair of sale 359 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:05,680 Speaker 1: and a propeller on it. That's pretty much what you're 360 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 1: talking about. And it sounds like it would still count 361 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:11,480 Speaker 1: as a as a light sport vehicle. Yes, yes, you 362 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:13,840 Speaker 1: would have to have sport aircraft. You have to have 363 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 1: a light sport aircraft piloting license to to be able 364 00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:21,080 Speaker 1: to fly this legally. Obviously there in fact, a lot 365 00:20:21,119 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 1: of the ones we're going to talk about, the earlier 366 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:25,719 Speaker 1: ones we were talking about, never really got beyond prototype 367 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: or concept, so it was kind of right, right, they 368 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 1: never had to think about this kind of thing. Also, 369 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:32,679 Speaker 1: I'm sure that the regulations of the f a A 370 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,280 Speaker 1: were a lot lighter when the f A didn't exist, 371 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:38,160 Speaker 1: so there's some probably helped. The next one we'll talk 372 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:42,359 Speaker 1: about has kind of a very uh lase attitude about 373 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:45,159 Speaker 1: air regulations, but I'll mention that when we get into it. 374 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:46,879 Speaker 1: So this one, you would actually have to have a 375 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:50,080 Speaker 1: pilot's license to operate in flying mode, but a sport 376 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:53,800 Speaker 1: pilot license, which I believe it's a little different from it. 377 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:56,639 Speaker 1: They are different classes, just like there are different classes 378 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:01,240 Speaker 1: of motorist licenses, there are different classes of pilot licenses, right, 379 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:05,119 Speaker 1: And since a light sport aircraft is I think you 380 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:08,800 Speaker 1: have visual site rules on that one, so it's right, 381 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:10,560 Speaker 1: and it's small enough, it can only be a one 382 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:13,440 Speaker 1: or two seater just the pilot and up to one passenger. 383 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:17,119 Speaker 1: You know, max weight of like six which is one thousand, 384 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 1: three twenty pounds, and a max speed of a hundred 385 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 1: and twenty nuts, which is like a hundred and thirty 386 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:24,879 Speaker 1: eight miles per hour or two d and two kilometers 387 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:27,600 Speaker 1: per hour. So it's going relatively by the speed of 388 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,960 Speaker 1: planes slow, right, and so all you really need is 389 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 1: a driver's license and a this this sport pilot certifications. 390 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:39,080 Speaker 1: You don't need the full medical thing where a doctor 391 00:21:39,119 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: approved by the f A comes out and says like, yes, 392 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:44,199 Speaker 1: you are mentally and physically fit to pilot. Right, you 393 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:47,200 Speaker 1: can be as unstable as you like as long as 394 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:49,440 Speaker 1: you don't because the damage that you'll create a few 395 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:53,280 Speaker 1: crash is relatively small. The Parajet skycar, it's top speed 396 00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 1: is well within those parameters. Is that a hundred fifteen 397 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:58,320 Speaker 1: miles per hour or about a hundred eighty five kilometers 398 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,639 Speaker 1: per hour on the ground. In the scare, it's fifty 399 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,359 Speaker 1: five miles per hour or nine kilometers per hour. And 400 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:06,919 Speaker 1: that's not a big surprise. You're flying by para sale. 401 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:09,640 Speaker 1: It's not like not like like you got a turbojet. 402 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:12,240 Speaker 1: A gallon of gas will take it about fifty six 403 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:14,640 Speaker 1: point five miles on the ground or two hundred nautical 404 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:18,879 Speaker 1: miles in the sky. And it costs one hundred nineteen 405 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 1: thousand dollars for a dune buggy, which is high for 406 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:26,800 Speaker 1: a dune bug gam sure, but it's approximately average for 407 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:30,399 Speaker 1: light sport. So this, when you think about this, this 408 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:32,359 Speaker 1: you know, first you say Oh, this is kind of 409 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:34,920 Speaker 1: a weird thing for people to spend money on, but 410 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 1: it's actually something that has been used for first responders 411 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:42,440 Speaker 1: and disasters. They've used them to get medicine to remote 412 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:45,239 Speaker 1: locations because you can fly it and then land it 413 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:47,680 Speaker 1: and then drive over rough terrain because it's a dune bugge. 414 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:50,880 Speaker 1: So yeah, you can get to places that might need 415 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:54,639 Speaker 1: medical relief or other disaster relief. And it's actually become 416 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 1: a useful tool. So while we kind of laugh about 417 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:00,240 Speaker 1: some of these designs because they're either impractical or they 418 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:04,520 Speaker 1: they're crazy extravagant, this one actually had a practical use. 419 00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:08,000 Speaker 1: We will return to this classic episode about Where's my 420 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:10,120 Speaker 1: Flying Car in just a moment, but first let's take 421 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:20,119 Speaker 1: another quick break. That's more than I can say for 422 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:24,119 Speaker 1: the pal V one, which is a three wheeled vehicle 423 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 1: that converts into a gyrocopter. I I don't know what 424 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:29,960 Speaker 1: you're talking about. I want one of these right now. Okay, 425 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,119 Speaker 1: So it looks like a have you ever seen the 426 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:35,400 Speaker 1: Mono tracer? You might not have. There's actually one in Atlanta, 427 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:37,880 Speaker 1: and I think they only ever made something like seventy 428 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 1: of them. I do not believe that I have seen it. 429 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:43,239 Speaker 1: Have you seen tron? Do you know what the light 430 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:45,879 Speaker 1: cycle and tron looks like? That's all right, that's a 431 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:48,440 Speaker 1: mono tracer and if you just make a couple of adjustments, 432 00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:50,720 Speaker 1: that's essentially what the pal v one looks like. But 433 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:52,800 Speaker 1: instead of two wheels, it's step three. It's got two 434 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:54,919 Speaker 1: in the back, one in the front. It handles like 435 00:23:54,960 --> 00:24:00,199 Speaker 1: a motorcycle, and the gyrocopter rotor folds down and the 436 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:03,920 Speaker 1: tail folds in to make it a pretty compact vehicle. 437 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:07,439 Speaker 1: So when you decide that you want to go flying around, 438 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,760 Speaker 1: you drive it over to an airport, you unfold the 439 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:13,840 Speaker 1: rotor and the tail, and then once the road gets going, 440 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:16,720 Speaker 1: it's self propelling. Relates a gyrocopter will have to do 441 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:21,000 Speaker 1: a whole episode on how gyrocopters were, absolutely, but it 442 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,000 Speaker 1: can then do a you know, a vertical takeoff because 443 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:26,400 Speaker 1: it's just like any other gyrocopter and you can fly 444 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:29,240 Speaker 1: it around. And this is where the blase attitude comes in. 445 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: They say, like, you know, it's designed to fly around 446 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:36,880 Speaker 1: or below four thousand feet, which is about which that's 447 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:39,679 Speaker 1: under the visual flight rules traffic, meaning you don't have 448 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:41,920 Speaker 1: to have lots of instruments you can. You can fly 449 00:24:42,119 --> 00:24:45,400 Speaker 1: by sight, right, your cabin doesn't have to be pressurized 450 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:47,760 Speaker 1: at that at that height, and you're not really going 451 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:51,600 Speaker 1: to be interfering with commercial Yeah, and they essentially say that, 452 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:55,280 Speaker 1: you know, at that height, the government doesn't really care, 453 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:59,879 Speaker 1: so have fun. That's essentially what the messages. I'm not 454 00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 1: if that is accurate. I think that there's a problem. 455 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:04,800 Speaker 1: It's kind of terrifying. Really. It can reach top speeds 456 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:08,119 Speaker 1: of a hundred twelve miles prour or KOs prower on 457 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:12,960 Speaker 1: land or in the air. So uh yeah, terrifying no 458 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 1: matter how you put it. But it looks awesome. I 459 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:17,480 Speaker 1: mean the pictures and everything the video is is really 460 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,200 Speaker 1: it's a ton of fun. So they have made prototypes. 461 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:23,800 Speaker 1: These exist, Yeah, you could get one of these. Uh. 462 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:26,920 Speaker 1: Then there's the aero Mobile V two point five, which 463 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: is another propeller driven aircraft that also acts as a car, 464 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:34,560 Speaker 1: so really plane first, car second as a car. The 465 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:37,480 Speaker 1: wings for this aircraft fold back along the fuselage, so 466 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,800 Speaker 1: it's not detachable. They actually fold and they create this 467 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:45,240 Speaker 1: kind of funky elongated car body. Because the wings are 468 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:48,239 Speaker 1: they're not necessarily short, so the whole car is a 469 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:50,720 Speaker 1: long car and The very back of the car is 470 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,040 Speaker 1: also kind of funky. It has this sort of uh, 471 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:54,960 Speaker 1: these tail fins that pop out of the back, so 472 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:58,720 Speaker 1: the tail of the aircraft think of like a horizontal 473 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:01,479 Speaker 1: tail with two verb cool tail fins that pop up 474 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:04,600 Speaker 1: directly under those tail fins are the rear wheels for 475 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:07,000 Speaker 1: the Aero Mobile two point five. So what you're saying 476 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:08,840 Speaker 1: is that if you drop your middle school or off 477 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:10,960 Speaker 1: in this car, they're gonna make their there. They're gonna 478 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:13,680 Speaker 1: get a lot of wedgies. Possibly they're either going to 479 00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:15,919 Speaker 1: be told that they have the coolest parent ever, or 480 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:18,640 Speaker 1: they're going to be ostracized for the rest of their lives. 481 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:21,160 Speaker 1: It's middle school. That's kind of how it goes. So, 482 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:23,200 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, really, if it weren't that, it'd 483 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:26,800 Speaker 1: be something else. Um there. This one has a double 484 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 1: steering wheel, which I thought was really cool. The outer 485 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,399 Speaker 1: steering wheel is designed to drive the car and the 486 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:34,800 Speaker 1: inter steering wheel is designed to drive it when it's 487 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:36,359 Speaker 1: in the air. So it's a steering wheel, not a 488 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:39,320 Speaker 1: not a joystick for the air travel exactly. And it's 489 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:43,800 Speaker 1: you know, I guess too. To conserve space, they built 490 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:47,240 Speaker 1: two in one. Um I don't. I haven't seen pictures 491 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,359 Speaker 1: of how this looks, so I don't know exactly, Like 492 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:51,199 Speaker 1: if the second one, the one in the middle, if 493 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: it projects out a little bit, I would imagine when 494 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:56,080 Speaker 1: I have to. Otherwise I can't. I can't see how 495 00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:59,520 Speaker 1: you would be able to manipulate it. But the description 496 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:02,080 Speaker 1: I thought was really interesting. And you just you push 497 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:04,880 Speaker 1: a button to go into aircraft mode and that makes 498 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:07,800 Speaker 1: the wings unfold and they lock into aircraft position. And 499 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:09,639 Speaker 1: you would have to do this at an airport. This 500 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:12,000 Speaker 1: is one of those those cars where you would have 501 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,600 Speaker 1: to drive it to an airport, get on the landing strip, 502 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:17,000 Speaker 1: unfolded wings until they're locked into place, and then you 503 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:20,040 Speaker 1: could drive until you reach liftoff speed and take off. 504 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:23,280 Speaker 1: So you couldn't just do this on the street. That 505 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:26,960 Speaker 1: would be bad um. And it has a top speed 506 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,199 Speaker 1: of a hundred and twenty four miles per hour or 507 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:32,200 Speaker 1: two hundred kilometers per hour when it's an airplane mode, 508 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:34,719 Speaker 1: and has a range of about four d thirty miles 509 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:38,399 Speaker 1: or seven kilometers and according to the designer, who is 510 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:41,879 Speaker 1: Stefan Kleine. Stefan says that you can refuel this at 511 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,760 Speaker 1: any standard gas station which suggests that it is actually 512 00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:48,160 Speaker 1: using regular gasoline or diesel, one of the two. It's 513 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:51,720 Speaker 1: not using any kind of airplane fuel. Automotive fuel is 514 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,600 Speaker 1: becoming for especially for these small sport craft, a more 515 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,280 Speaker 1: popular choice from what I've been reading right now. This 516 00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:59,479 Speaker 1: one has not yet been certified by the government, but 517 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:02,160 Speaker 1: we imagine that it would probably fall under the same 518 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:06,040 Speaker 1: certification as other UH flying cars have under the light 519 00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:09,680 Speaker 1: sport aircraft designation, So uh this would also be another 520 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:11,399 Speaker 1: one where you would have to have that pilot license 521 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:13,760 Speaker 1: or to operate it. The wingspan on this thing is 522 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:16,680 Speaker 1: twenty seven feet wide or eight point two meters, which 523 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:19,080 Speaker 1: is why I say it's an aircraft first in a 524 00:28:19,119 --> 00:28:22,160 Speaker 1: car second, because you know, at twenty seven feet when 525 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:23,960 Speaker 1: you fold that back, that means that car has to 526 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 1: be pretty long. It's it does not look like a car. 527 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:29,199 Speaker 1: Like you. You look at this and you think, I 528 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:31,000 Speaker 1: don't know what it is, but it's not a car. 529 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 1: It sounds like not that many of these that we've 530 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,080 Speaker 1: been talking about would look like cars in any kind 531 00:28:37,119 --> 00:28:39,360 Speaker 1: of yeah, this car shape. I think a lot of 532 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 1: these would go to amateur pilots who have a lot 533 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:49,560 Speaker 1: of income. Pretty typical of amateur pilots anyway, because it's 534 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,600 Speaker 1: expensive to be a pilot. Oh sure, sure, but you know, 535 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:54,720 Speaker 1: and and there there is a problem of many of 536 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:57,000 Speaker 1: the public airports that you can land in. Once you 537 00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:59,320 Speaker 1: land there, there's no public transportation that goes out of 538 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:01,360 Speaker 1: them there. They're too small to have even like a 539 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:03,440 Speaker 1: taxi stand or something like that. So so you need 540 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:05,800 Speaker 1: to and it can be a pain if you if 541 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:08,120 Speaker 1: you fly your plane somewhere and you want to immediately 542 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:12,760 Speaker 1: go elsewhere. Therefore, this thing that you could drive on 543 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:17,160 Speaker 1: the ground as well as in the air, bass more 544 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: expensive than any other thing you could speaking of. More 545 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:24,800 Speaker 1: expensive actually you have. All right, So here's the grand 546 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:26,720 Speaker 1: daddy of flying cars. This is the one that's been 547 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:32,680 Speaker 1: the news recently, right, Yeah, the Terrafugia UM trans transition. Yes, 548 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:35,120 Speaker 1: why do I always forget that word? It's really it's 549 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 1: a transition. It's it's kind of built for a purpose 550 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:42,200 Speaker 1: of transitioning from car to airplane airplane. Uh yeah. The 551 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:47,520 Speaker 1: Terrafugia tagline is we are driven to fly, which apparently 552 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:52,640 Speaker 1: I wrote the tagline. Someone there is very like minded 553 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:58,360 Speaker 1: to you that that's terrifying. UM. Their their first model 554 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:01,000 Speaker 1: This transition has been in development for seven years. As 555 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:06,440 Speaker 1: of flight testing finally occurred in UM they are taking 556 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:11,240 Speaker 1: pre orders. Uh wow, how much is it? Uh? Two 557 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:15,880 Speaker 1: dollars I got chick my account, which you know is 558 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,000 Speaker 1: high for a car. Um, it's actually really high for 559 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:22,680 Speaker 1: a plane as well. The first car that's also a plane, 560 00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:25,800 Speaker 1: it's a steel Seeing as how your choices are so limited, 561 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:29,479 Speaker 1: and that's almost entire I think that every single one 562 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,320 Speaker 1: that we've talked about has has projected a lower price 563 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:35,520 Speaker 1: than that's one. Um. But okay, so so this is 564 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:38,680 Speaker 1: a this is a two seater street legal airplane that 565 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:42,080 Speaker 1: converts between driving mode and flying mode in supposedly under 566 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:44,560 Speaker 1: a minute. And it's a it's another press of button. 567 00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:48,280 Speaker 1: It doesn't kind of thing. Um. Yeah, it would fit 568 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:52,440 Speaker 1: into a standard single car garage. UM has a full 569 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:56,400 Speaker 1: vehicle parachute in case anything terrible happens at above five feet. 570 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:00,840 Speaker 1: Very important, yes, and supposedly meets the federal motor vehicle 571 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,680 Speaker 1: stand safety standards that have been put forth by the 572 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:08,160 Speaker 1: uh National Highway Traffic and Safety Administrations. So that's that's 573 00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:09,800 Speaker 1: something else that we have to talk about. I mean 574 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:13,080 Speaker 1: the fact that these vehicles have to meet two different 575 00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:15,040 Speaker 1: sets of standards, right, they have to meet as certain 576 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:17,480 Speaker 1: set standards by the f a A and another one 577 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:20,640 Speaker 1: by by the highway. You know, they have to be 578 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:23,160 Speaker 1: both safe as cars and safe as aircraft. And that 579 00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:25,280 Speaker 1: is that is a lot of safety stuff to talk about, 580 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:27,720 Speaker 1: which I think is one of the reasons why none 581 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:30,480 Speaker 1: of none of this has come out of prototype, particularly yet, 582 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:33,960 Speaker 1: especially not for consumer purchase. Now, when would these things 583 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,520 Speaker 1: be available? Like, are we talking ten years? Uh, they've 584 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:41,600 Speaker 1: they've they haven't really projected a date that I've seen. Yeah, 585 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:44,400 Speaker 1: I saw someone saying that it might be in as 586 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:49,400 Speaker 1: few as two years, which means by theoretically these things 587 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:51,640 Speaker 1: could be available. And again, because it would be a 588 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:54,080 Speaker 1: light sport aircraft, you would have to have a pilot's 589 00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:56,680 Speaker 1: license to operate it, so I assume you would also 590 00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:58,600 Speaker 1: have to drive this thing out to an airport, just 591 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:00,680 Speaker 1: like some of the other ones we've talked about. Absolutely, 592 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:04,040 Speaker 1: that's that's exactly the gig for this sort of thing. Um, well, 593 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:05,880 Speaker 1: that that means that it's not going to be something 594 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:08,360 Speaker 1: that's going to absolutely fill the skies as soon as 595 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:11,440 Speaker 1: it rolls off the production line. No, this is also 596 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:15,320 Speaker 1: way more of a drivable aircraft than it is a 597 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:19,480 Speaker 1: flying flying car. Um, well, who's going to make a 598 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:22,600 Speaker 1: flying car, Lauren, I want my flying car? Well, okay, 599 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 1: you know this, this this thing is actually pretty clever. Um. 600 00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:27,480 Speaker 1: The the engine is a is a very popular light 601 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:30,320 Speaker 1: sport aircraft engine. It's called a rod Tex nine twelve. 602 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:33,720 Speaker 1: I s um at least I assume that is that 603 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:37,040 Speaker 1: is precisely how you say that, because I don't know 604 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 1: all that much about plane engines. As it turns out, 605 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:42,840 Speaker 1: is a weird talk. It really is. I mean, this 606 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:45,240 Speaker 1: is an engine that's really being lauded for its fuel 607 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:49,200 Speaker 1: economy and has a whole lot of onboard computers to 608 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:52,280 Speaker 1: run all kinds of terrific diagnostics for you that that 609 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:54,520 Speaker 1: are going to read out in a way that's useful 610 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:57,400 Speaker 1: even if you're not an engineer. So, so it's a 611 00:32:57,520 --> 00:33:01,560 Speaker 1: So it's a pretty cool engine. And they're they're talking 612 00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:04,200 Speaker 1: about I mean, okay when they say that it fits 613 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:07,640 Speaker 1: in a standard single car garage, where we're talking about 614 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:11,960 Speaker 1: a seventy eight inch or two meter tall vehicle with 615 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:15,920 Speaker 1: a eight meter twenty six ft wingspan and six m 616 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:20,080 Speaker 1: or nineteen ft length. Um, if you want to compare 617 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:22,800 Speaker 1: that to say, like a camera. Um, you're you're talking 618 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:26,960 Speaker 1: about a little bit taller about half meter inches not 619 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:29,080 Speaker 1: not half a meter one point five ms. I was 620 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:31,920 Speaker 1: thinking half a meter shorter, and then words didn't happen. 621 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:36,640 Speaker 1: That's significantly shorter, alright. So it's shorter than the camera 622 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:40,280 Speaker 1: is shorter than the camera is shorter, but it's it's 623 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:42,120 Speaker 1: just about as long like a hundred and eighty nine 624 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:46,600 Speaker 1: inches or five meters is what you're talking So on 625 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:54,200 Speaker 1: a wingspan on a camera, it's about seventy two inches. Wow, man, 626 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:58,120 Speaker 1: I have been out of the car game for too long. Uh. 627 00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:00,680 Speaker 1: But yeah, as it turns out, you know, this is 628 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:05,160 Speaker 1: this is another one of those propeller based aircraft right 629 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:07,960 Speaker 1: right right, it's it's a real propeller and um, and 630 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:10,880 Speaker 1: you know it's what's interesting to me is that they're 631 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:14,200 Speaker 1: using this single engine to to go back and forth, 632 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:18,360 Speaker 1: you know, to to switch back and forth between powering 633 00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:21,239 Speaker 1: the car and powering the plane. Yeah. Well that's really 634 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:23,520 Speaker 1: cool that you've got this one engine that can do 635 00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:26,640 Speaker 1: two very different jobs in the same vehicle. The fact 636 00:34:26,640 --> 00:34:29,560 Speaker 1: that it's turning a propeller and then can switch to 637 00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:33,560 Speaker 1: this other completely different drive train and control the car, 638 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:35,759 Speaker 1: you know, give the car the propulsion it needs to 639 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:38,960 Speaker 1: drive around. That's engineering. Feats like that that I think 640 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:42,239 Speaker 1: are really really interesting. Even if the vehicle itself is 641 00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:45,080 Speaker 1: never a success commercially, the fact that that was an 642 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:48,160 Speaker 1: innovation is really cool. Yeah. So the question I have 643 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:51,839 Speaker 1: for you, Lauren, is anyone working on like a prototype 644 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:54,640 Speaker 1: that the average driver could use to fly around? Not 645 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:57,400 Speaker 1: someone who you know has trained as a pilot, but 646 00:34:57,480 --> 00:35:00,000 Speaker 1: someone who would just maybe a couple of hours, could 647 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:02,920 Speaker 1: figure out how to operate this thing. Okay? Well, strangely 648 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:05,880 Speaker 1: enough that that same company, Tara Fugia, is working on 649 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:09,480 Speaker 1: the t f X, which is a four seat hybrid 650 00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:13,319 Speaker 1: flying car. Okay, and and and part part of my 651 00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:14,800 Speaker 1: problem with this I'm going to say right off, is 652 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:18,720 Speaker 1: that this could not qualify as a light sport vehicle. 653 00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:21,360 Speaker 1: You would need an actual pilot license in order to 654 00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:24,000 Speaker 1: drive this because it contains a because you can carry 655 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:27,440 Speaker 1: more than two people. Right. Also, from what I understand, 656 00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:31,960 Speaker 1: has not only propellers, which are used for vertical takeoff 657 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:35,160 Speaker 1: and landing, so in other words, they pivot right where 658 00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:38,480 Speaker 1: they would pivot up, and they the propellers themselves fold 659 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:41,799 Speaker 1: in on the pods that they are mounted on, So 660 00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:45,200 Speaker 1: then the pods would move up to vertical position, the 661 00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:49,040 Speaker 1: the blades would fold out, they would start to rotate, 662 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:52,440 Speaker 1: you would gain altitude. They would then start tilting forward, 663 00:35:52,520 --> 00:35:55,879 Speaker 1: so you'd start going forward, and then it switches over 664 00:35:55,920 --> 00:36:02,560 Speaker 1: to from why I understand horsepower engine that provides thrust. Yeah, 665 00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:04,360 Speaker 1: that that rotex I was talking about is like a 666 00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:07,800 Speaker 1: hundred horsepower engine. Yeah, which is a little bit more reasonable. 667 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:09,319 Speaker 1: I mean, it's going to take you up to that 668 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:13,000 Speaker 1: like hundred and twenty so mile per hour kind of 669 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:15,320 Speaker 1: range that we were talking about earlier. That seems reasonable 670 00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:19,200 Speaker 1: for your average driver to handle, right, a three horsepower 671 00:36:19,239 --> 00:36:21,879 Speaker 1: engine for cruising, it says, I guess what it means 672 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:24,200 Speaker 1: is that once you get up to a particular speed, 673 00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:27,920 Speaker 1: this engine would would switch over and you would move 674 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:32,080 Speaker 1: much faster. Now. The proposal, from what I understand, also 675 00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:35,880 Speaker 1: involves lots of automation, to the point where practically everything 676 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:40,920 Speaker 1: would be handled in the air by essentially autopilot, right, 677 00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:42,200 Speaker 1: you know, to the to the point that if the 678 00:36:42,239 --> 00:36:45,160 Speaker 1: computer decides that a route that you have chosen is 679 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:50,239 Speaker 1: dangerous or that you are flying into undesirable territory that 680 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:53,919 Speaker 1: it would declare an emergency to authorities on your behalf right, 681 00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:55,880 Speaker 1: and it would force you to go and land at 682 00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,799 Speaker 1: an airport. Yes, so yeah, this thing. But this thing, 683 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:02,040 Speaker 1: because it has the VTOL approach, means that theoretically you 684 00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:05,360 Speaker 1: could take off from any location, not just in airports, right, 685 00:37:05,400 --> 00:37:07,360 Speaker 1: as long as you've got that level clearing of about 686 00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:11,879 Speaker 1: a hundred feet, which is right. So it's they are 687 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:14,960 Speaker 1: supposedly working on this. They pretty much have this just 688 00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:18,160 Speaker 1: in constant drawing us. Yeah, they've they've got some shiny 689 00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:20,279 Speaker 1: computer animations of it. They said that there would be 690 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:22,480 Speaker 1: something like eight or twelve eight to twelve years of 691 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:25,319 Speaker 1: testing before this would ever become an actual thing, So 692 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:28,239 Speaker 1: we are a good ways out from seeing this if 693 00:37:28,239 --> 00:37:31,520 Speaker 1: it ever in fact becomes real reality. I think a 694 00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:33,480 Speaker 1: lot of that's going to depend upon the success or 695 00:37:33,520 --> 00:37:36,359 Speaker 1: failure of the transition UM. If that ends up being 696 00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:38,360 Speaker 1: a success, that makes it more likely that they'll be 697 00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:41,520 Speaker 1: able to do more development on the t FX. I 698 00:37:41,719 --> 00:37:43,960 Speaker 1: honestly don't know what to think about this. I I 699 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:46,080 Speaker 1: you know, granted, when I was a kid, I wouldn't 700 00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:47,960 Speaker 1: have been able to imagine a car that could take 701 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:50,960 Speaker 1: you door to door without you ever touching the wheel. 702 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:53,200 Speaker 1: And yet now we're starting to see cars in the 703 00:37:53,239 --> 00:37:57,799 Speaker 1: prototype stage at various companies like Google and other and 704 00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:01,279 Speaker 1: like actual car manufacturing companies too, so we're starting to 705 00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:04,719 Speaker 1: see that, So maybe it's possible. It's just I think 706 00:38:04,760 --> 00:38:08,640 Speaker 1: that flying is way more complicated than driving. Yeah, that's 707 00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:11,160 Speaker 1: that's the thing. I mean, I really don't think that, 708 00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:17,080 Speaker 1: you know, all that autonomous car stuff is complicated enough 709 00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:19,200 Speaker 1: as it stands. We just did a whole episode of 710 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:21,799 Speaker 1: Run Forward thinking about it, and so so check that 711 00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:23,479 Speaker 1: out if you if you want to get a full 712 00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:27,239 Speaker 1: breakdown of how difficult this problem really is. Although certainly, yeah, 713 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:30,719 Speaker 1: lots of companies are working on it, but I don't, 714 00:38:30,719 --> 00:38:33,719 Speaker 1: you know, between that and the fact that so many 715 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:37,160 Speaker 1: regulations and and laws would have to be in place 716 00:38:37,239 --> 00:38:39,080 Speaker 1: in order for this to be a reality, And all 717 00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:43,120 Speaker 1: I would take is maybe one really bad publicity, like 718 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:45,920 Speaker 1: like accident, even if no one was hurt, That's all 719 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:51,600 Speaker 1: I would take for it to essentially ground everybody. So uh, yeah, 720 00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:54,160 Speaker 1: And I don't want to be doom and gloom about 721 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:57,920 Speaker 1: it because I think that especially these these drivable planes 722 00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:00,680 Speaker 1: are a really interesting concept and I really hope that 723 00:39:00,719 --> 00:39:03,480 Speaker 1: a couple of these companies make some consumer level ones 724 00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:05,360 Speaker 1: for the next couple of years. Even if you know, 725 00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:09,280 Speaker 1: two seventy dollars, it's not something that this personal consumer 726 00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:13,120 Speaker 1: is ready to drop on anything. Um but but yeah, 727 00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:16,960 Speaker 1: you know, it's it's that that single engine clever idea 728 00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:20,600 Speaker 1: is is pretty awesome, and and having something that lightweight 729 00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:23,399 Speaker 1: that that you're still comfortable driving is is pretty rad 730 00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:26,560 Speaker 1: I you know, I am skeptical but hopeful. Let me 731 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:29,000 Speaker 1: put it that way, like, if it never happens, I 732 00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:33,040 Speaker 1: won't be surprised. If it does happen, I fully expect that, 733 00:39:33,239 --> 00:39:35,640 Speaker 1: you know, for it to get cleared, it's going to 734 00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:38,120 Speaker 1: have to be the best of the best technology out there. 735 00:39:38,200 --> 00:39:42,000 Speaker 1: So hopefully we will see this within our lifetimes, in 736 00:39:42,040 --> 00:39:45,920 Speaker 1: that ten to forty years years. Absolutely, But you know, 737 00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:48,640 Speaker 1: if we don't, then I'm sure we'll figure out how 738 00:39:48,640 --> 00:39:52,280 Speaker 1: to get around traffic some other way. And that wraps 739 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:54,719 Speaker 1: up this classic episode of tech Stuff. I hope you 740 00:39:54,760 --> 00:39:58,160 Speaker 1: guys enjoyed it. If you have any suggestions about topics 741 00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:01,080 Speaker 1: I should cover in tech Stuff, please let me know. 742 00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:03,960 Speaker 1: You can reach out via Twitter. The handle is tech 743 00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:06,960 Speaker 1: stuff h S. W and I'll talk to you again 744 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:15,520 Speaker 1: really soon. Text Stuff is an I heart Radio production. 745 00:40:15,719 --> 00:40:18,560 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i 746 00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:21,920 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 747 00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:22,880 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.