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Your Flying Car May Be Almost Here Jeremy Bogaisky Forbes Staff May 24, 2018, 04:18pm 8,210 views #NewTech This story appears in the May 31, 2018 issue of Forbes. Subscribe For eons, personal aerial vehicles have been seen as a marker of the arrival of the future. Now a number of companies are working on commercializing flying cars and autonomous air taxis (generally bulbous pods driven by electric-powered rotors). Here are some of the major players and their current development status. Regulatory, cost and technology limitations make it unlikely that many city-dwellers will wing their way to work anytime soon, but for certain uses, the ferment of activity is making the future look a lot of closer. (The following is expanded from the magazine version.) PAL-V Liberty CMO Markus Hess of the Dutch flying car developer PAL-V poses next to one of the company's prototypes on May 30, 2017. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images) What is it? Two-seat, gas-powered gyrocopter with a flying range of about 250 miles at maximum weight. In car mode, the Dutch company says the three-wheeled vehicle can hit 100 mph. Current phase: Applying for safety certification in Europe; 90 initial production models for sale from $399,000. When? The company says it will make first deliveries in Europe in 2019. Ehang 184 The Ehang 184 carries a passenger into the air on Feb. 6 in Guangzhou, China. (Photo by Feng Zhoufeng/Southern Metropolis Daily/VCG via Getty Images) What? Electric drone capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and a top speed of 80 mph. It's only able to stay aloft for 25 minutes (battery technology has a ways to go to enable longer flight times), but the company says its range (about 25 miles) is enough to establish a viable air taxi service in most cities. Why 184? Because it's designed to carry one passenger and has eight propellers on four arms. Current phase: Testing. The company said in February it had conducted over 1,000 test flights, including some with human passengers. When? Not clear. A target start date of July 2017 announced by Dubai for a pilotless air taxi service there came and went. Ehang says it's still hoping to get in the air in Dubai, and it's working with Chinese authorities to establish airworthiness standards. Volocopter 2X A Volocopter prototype flies in front of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower, during a test flight in Dubai, Sept. 26, 2017. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili) What? Two-seat electric VTOL multicopter with 18 rotors, with a maximum flight time of 27 minutes and range of 17 miles. Can be piloted or operated autonomously. Current phase: Testing. Volocopter has provisional certification for manned flight in Germany. The Daimler-backed company has staged demonstration flights in Las Vegas and Dubai, where it is working with transportation authorities on laying the groundwork for establishing autonomous air taxi service there. When? The company hopes to establish its first point-to-point route in the next two to three years and a full-fledged, multi-hub urban air taxi system within the next 10 years. Terrafugia Transition The Transition landing at Lawrence Municipal Airport in Massachusetts on Jan. 13, 2016. (Terrafugia / Barcroft Cars / Barcroft Media via Getty Images) What? Two-seat, folding-wing flying car with a range of 400 miles in the air; on the ground, it will be capable of "highway speeds," Massachusetts-based Terrafugia says. Runs on premium gasoline. Current phase: After being acquired last year by Zhejiang Geely, the company, founded in 2006 by a team of MIT grads, says it's working on a new production prototype with enhancements under the hood, leveraging the engineering expertise of the Chinese automaker's Volvo division. When? First deliveries planned for 2019. Aurora Flight Sciences eVTOL Artist's renditionCOURTESY OF AURORA FLIGHT SCIENCES What? Three-seat electric with eight rotors for vertical takeoff and landing and a fixed wing and rear propeller, enabling more efficient forward flight than a multicopter. Piloted initially but designed for autonomous operation. Current phase: Testing. One of five companies working to design vehicles for Uber's planned air taxi service, the innovative UAV developer was acquired last year by Boeing, giving it a deep well of capital and engineering resources to tap. When? Uber aims to start demoing service in 2020 in Dallas, L.A. and Dubai, with commercial launch in 2023. Don't be surprised if the dates slip: regulatory questions loom large, and a battery capable of meeting the performance specs Uber envisions doesn't yet exist. Lilium Artist's renditionCOURTESY OF LILIUM What? Five-seat VTOL jet featuring fixed wings with 12 tilting flaps bearing 36 electric engines. Current phase: The German company tested a two-seat version of the jet last year and secured $90 million in funding from investors including Tencent and Twitter co-founder Ev Williams. When? The company is aiming for its first manned test flight in 2019 and to launch an on-demand air taxi service in 2025. Kitty Hawk Cora Artist's renditionCOURTESY OF KITTY HAWK What? Two-seat electric drone with 12 lift fans for vertical takeoff and landing and a rear propeller and fixed wing for forward flight. Range of 60 miles at a cruising speed of 110 mph. Current phase: The secretive California startup, bankrolled by Google's Larry Page and helmed by former Google X chief Sebastian Thrun, revealed in March that it was testing Cora in New Zealand with the aim of launching an air taxi service. When? Unknown

That is why the Garmin GPS has a "home" button.

Grilled onion. 1 piece of lettuce. 1 slice of tomato. 1/2 lb of Harris Ranch beef. You've got to be a Californian to appreciate all that fresh produce. I realize that the rest of the country is only accustomed to consuming vegetables that come from a can. Actually, you've got to be a Californian to like Harris Ranch beef. Every other part of the country has their own source of beef, and they are just as proud of it. And that is a world wide sentiment also. Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Australia......everywhere there is ranching, they are proud of their meat. I'm no expert. I've been around the block. For me, all beef is good. I like meat in general. Haven't had any beef that I would never eat again. It's almost like debating Atlantic Salmon vs Pacific Salmon. Only Putin can say that in Russia, they have the best prostitutes.

I suppose if the A/C system were strong enough, the entire van would be cool, not just a large space with pockets of air at different temps. It sounds like if you had a fan to circulate those pockets of cool air, then the A/C would be more effective. Vans are harder to cool and heat than small cars because there is more cubic volume. The engineers should have equipped the van with something better than what it currently has. I see a lot of Mercedes Sprinter & Ford Transit full size vans in use as passenger vehicles. A lot of them have rooftop A/C units. Either the factories are sending out passenger vans with rooftop units, or the OEM A/C is so bad that the livery companies are installing them.

I'm on The Left Coast. I still don't know half the time what people from different parts of the USA are saying. Huge cultural divide. Sort of like being a fast cook, and making grits faster than the rest of the grit eating world.

I don't know if Foreskin will help. Ideally, prior to undertaking such a mechanical endeavor, a reasonable person would have researched how to program the Engine Control Module, Transmission Control Module, and would have collected the proper hardware & software knowledge. The same way you get your other tools ready. Lay out the proper wrenches, so that you don't get to a certain bolt, and have to find the socket. I almost want to say that this type of technical savvy may be beyond the members of this forum, none of whom work as custom coach builders and/or automotive engineers. I can't speak for everyone else. I'm just a loud mouth who can change oil & rotate the tires. My skill set doesn't even allow me to make grits any faster than the rest of the grit eating world.

Be sure to post the tracking number.

Not that I've ever poached any undersized game.......but if you open along the spine, then take the back strap first, you could work your way down separating the major quarters from the skeletal structure. You will have all of the large muscle mass pieces off and in your ice chest first, without any worry about contaminating meat if you accidentally cup open the bladder, intestines, et cetera. You can also harvest the hide with the soft belly skin in the middle intact. A different approach from traditional upside down, opening at the belly cavity.

Theory is that thermodynamics works by heat rising and cooler air sinking down. A/C vents aimed all the way up is suppose to direct that cool air towards the roofline. So that you don't have that pocket of hot air at the top, and the denser cool air sinking is suppose to cool the interior evenly. That being said, the van's A/C sucks. It's noisy. And on triple digits, it doesn't cool enough. I have the wagon version, with vents on the B-pillar and in body trim above the rear wheels. What made a huge difference was tinted windows. Limo tint. Dark as possible. Illegal in some jurisdictions. Gives my van a creepy look: as if women and children aren't safe around me. Everybody thinks that I've got duct tape, tarp, and a shovel in the back. I sure wish I could get away with tinting the windshield. In my state, I can't tint the front row windows or the windshield.

On The Left Coast, we go to In & Out.

I suspect that there is already a portion of the population that can't find their way home without the assistance of a GPS.

There will always be some who insist on tradition. Nothing wrong with that. A microwave will never roast a chicken properly. In the automotive world, the Amish still insist on a horse & buggy. OldSchoolFool, your days of not having a camera are numbered. All new passenger vehicles are now required to be sold with cameras. Eventually, you will find yourself with a pair of wire cutters, manually over-riding the camera, just to prove to everyone else that it isn't needed. The rest of us will depend on the camera so much, that we will forget how to turn our heads and use the mirrors.

Make me think of that auto-pilot car that struck the pedestrian, while the human behind the wheel was watching some sort of entertainment on her phone. So sad. In theory, with all vehicles automated, and in communications with the municipal traffic control system, as well as other vehicles in the proximity, there would be no stop and go traffic. All traffic would flow seamlessly, in a safe speed, and all collisions would be avoided. If all vehicles were automated, they could drive 75 mph, bumper to bumper & fender to fender. All vehicles would be parked properly with the minimum needed space between bumpers, and no bumpers would be tapped. You wouldn't have some idiot taking two parking spaces, or leaving 10 feet between bumpers. Mike Chell could commute with a pillow & sleep mask. I could drink a 6 pack. I've been waiting for the day of self driving cars since the movie "Total Recall" with the "Johnny Cab". Now if only we can get robot maids at home, like The Jeffersons.

I'm with you. We don't need more laws. We're not enforcing the laws that we already have on the books. I'm all for less government. But those kinds of topics are for discussion in other forums. Let's get back to the fun stuff, like laughing at 70's haircuts and 80's technology. Sort of reminds me of the first time my beeper went off as I was cruising down A1A, Beachfront Avenue. Almost spilled the beverage I had in my clip-on cup holder.

Funny you should say that. Some of the commercial vans don't have rear windows. Some don't even have a rearview mirror: there's nothing to see when you don't have a rear window.

I used to drive 1/4 ton pickups. Toyota Tacoma (which I really like) now cost more, and they don't sell Ford Ranger anymore. The Honda Ridgeline is not a real pickup. GM trucks proved to be in need of more maintenance when in fleet service, or at least that is what I heard. I can honestly say that In over 10 years, my 1/2 ton has seen regular fluid changes, 1 new set of brakes, and that is it. Zero problems with blown gaskets, failed cooling system (water pump, thermostat, hoses, fan), fuel injectors and fuel pump, exhaust, suspension, et cetera. I would go back to driving a smaller pickup, if they didn't go up in price so much. Problem is that I'm not spending the same amount of money for less truck. Hoping that my Transit Connect will hold up 10 years with just oil changes and brakes. The mechanics in the Corporate Yard tell me that those Dodge Police Package cars are nice, but something is always going out. And that the new Interceptor version of the Explorer has driveline, braking, and suspension issues.....they think it's because it's a souped up Taurus disguised as an SUV, and not a real truck.

It happens. Everything is a distraction. And even without added distractions, collisions still occur. People have crashed their cars since there were cars to crash. But that doesn't make it okay to keep adding to our list of things that distract us while driving. I remember my dad telling me that cupholders were unsafe. This was back when not all cars had cupholders, and I bought a couple of those cupholders that clipped onto the door. You let people drink while they drive, and they will swallow wrong and choke, spill all over themselves, et cetera. He was right, of course. I've spilled more coffee on myself than I care to admit, and I've choked on fluids going down the wrong way.

If it was new, just let the dealer figure it out. Should be covered under warranty. The other option is just to wire up the camera yourself to the reverse lamp circuit, and install your own monitor. Not a great option. But it will work. My XL didn't come with a camera. I installed an aftermarket camera and aftermarket monitor sourced from amazon.com. It wasn't all that hard to do. I have had zero problems.

Cost will vary depending on labor. Did they use OEM or aftermarket? Parts are priced by vendor. Every shop marks up the parts. Depending on local market, the same repair can double in cost. Same way a local garage charges $100 per hour, and the dealership charger $200 per hour. A lot of aftermarket parts are priced at half of what the Ford Motorcraft is listed at.

I know your daughter's virtual twin. She ran into me, while I was in the crosswalk. i was on foot!

Sounds like 1 bad experience too many. This is why I do not go "corporate dining".

https://www.sears.com/craftsman-2-1-2-ton-floor-jack-low-profile/p-00950165000P?plpSellerId=Sears&prdNo=33&blockNo=33&blockType=G33

You would think that the height of the bumper would have broken that deer's legs, effectively preventing him from running away.

The first cell phones were actually car phones. Handset mounted onto the dash. Back when Miami Vice was still on the air. I had more hair on my head, and everybody else had powdered sugar on their nose from eating too many donuts.