I did some numbers on this one time and to get a 3000 lb vehicle airborne in VTOL requires about 1000-1500 HP and 2000 HP to really be safe. 2000 HP is about the point where you get a 2:1 TWR and get more drone like behavior including fast stops and redundancy. It also takes a ton of fuel to power 2000 HP worth of engine(s), so realistically this 3000 lb 1400 KG car would need wings or something to get good fuel economy.
In order to power these beasts, especially within the weight requires turbine engines which are expensive. Somewhere around 100k on the lower end. Two 1200 HP jet turbines would be good but would probably cost around 150-200k in America anyways. 2000 HP is also going to use close to a gallon per minute of fuel. So take offs and landings outside of runways would be a bit costly.
You would also need autopilot features in controlled airspace or people would be crashing into buildings and stuff within cities.
It’s a cool idea but there are many practical reasons why flying cars won’t really work rn. The technology exists but it’s expensive and hard to maintain and dangerous and also can be very loud.
3000 lb is very optimistic for a passenger vehicle, even a car. Most cars are not 3000 lbs. Only the smallest ones are. It’s probably possible by using carbon fiber and plastic and composite components.
The real issue is cost. Right now a decent car like a flying vehicle that can carry 2 or 4 people is going to cost around 500k without big markups. The twin engines alone are going to be pushing north of 200k. If you go with batteries you can do it much cheaper but you are limited to 1-3 hours of flight time per day.
If you go much smaller like a 600-700 lb drone bike thing. You could probably get away with 400 HP inline 4 cylinder which is not easy but it’s doable, but it’s dangerous because you don’t have redundancy. With a twin engine drone you can lose an engine and still land and recover from anything. Parachutes only work when you have a bit of time.
Yeah, that’s what’s shown in the video, basically a large six propeller drone. The big issues seem to be safety, flight time (battery lasts 20-30 minutes), and air space regulation.
Personally, I don’t think drones are there yet and may never be. The range is probably always going to be limited due to energy density and at that point mass transit (like trains) will always be the better/safer option. Even if you can solve the energy issue I think you still run into safety issues including high wind scenarios.
You can do it now but it’s expensive. You could also just put a really big battery on it and make it fly further but that makes it expensive and makes the propellers big.
As the propellers get bigger they cannot spin as fast because the radial velocity becomes massive and the blades cannot hold the force. The ideal way to build a drone like this is to actually have many smaller electric fans with two turbines running generators that power them. It’s safe and performant and more durable.
I think a cooler idea is more bike like platforms, something around 750 ibs, that can fly and hover. Maybe with articulating sections like a Gundam or something. Covers the face and blocks the wind a bit for comfort. That would be cool and maybe more like new car priced.
I wasn’t saying it couldn’t be done, I was saying drones as vehicles doesn’t seem viable (economically or for safety reasons).
Also, when you put in bigger batteries you increase the weight, thus increasing the amount of power you need to fly the drone. If these ventures say their drones get 20-30 minutes of flight I would assume that’s got to be around the current sweet spot.
You’re idea for making it more bike-like might be able to help with flight time (if drag doesn’t become a larger problem), but I don’t think commercially anyone is going to want to fly unprotected from wind and the elements.
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I did some numbers on this one time and to get a 3000 lb vehicle airborne in VTOL requires about 1000-1500 HP and 2000 HP to really be safe. 2000 HP is about the point where you get a 2:1 TWR and get more drone like behavior including fast stops and redundancy. It also takes a ton of fuel to power 2000 HP worth of engine(s), so realistically this 3000 lb 1400 KG car would need wings or something to get good fuel economy.
In order to power these beasts, especially within the weight requires turbine engines which are expensive. Somewhere around 100k on the lower end. Two 1200 HP jet turbines would be good but would probably cost around 150-200k in America anyways. 2000 HP is also going to use close to a gallon per minute of fuel. So take offs and landings outside of runways would be a bit costly.
You would also need autopilot features in controlled airspace or people would be crashing into buildings and stuff within cities.
It’s a cool idea but there are many practical reasons why flying cars won’t really work rn. The technology exists but it’s expensive and hard to maintain and dangerous and also can be very loud.
Link is messed up for me. Are these things really that heavy? I’d assume that they’re really just upsized drone things.
3000 lb is very optimistic for a passenger vehicle, even a car. Most cars are not 3000 lbs. Only the smallest ones are. It’s probably possible by using carbon fiber and plastic and composite components.
The real issue is cost. Right now a decent car like a flying vehicle that can carry 2 or 4 people is going to cost around 500k without big markups. The twin engines alone are going to be pushing north of 200k. If you go with batteries you can do it much cheaper but you are limited to 1-3 hours of flight time per day.
If you go much smaller like a 600-700 lb drone bike thing. You could probably get away with 400 HP inline 4 cylinder which is not easy but it’s doable, but it’s dangerous because you don’t have redundancy. With a twin engine drone you can lose an engine and still land and recover from anything. Parachutes only work when you have a bit of time.
Yeah, that’s what’s shown in the video, basically a large six propeller drone. The big issues seem to be safety, flight time (battery lasts 20-30 minutes), and air space regulation.
Personally, I don’t think drones are there yet and may never be. The range is probably always going to be limited due to energy density and at that point mass transit (like trains) will always be the better/safer option. Even if you can solve the energy issue I think you still run into safety issues including high wind scenarios.
You can do it now but it’s expensive. You could also just put a really big battery on it and make it fly further but that makes it expensive and makes the propellers big.
As the propellers get bigger they cannot spin as fast because the radial velocity becomes massive and the blades cannot hold the force. The ideal way to build a drone like this is to actually have many smaller electric fans with two turbines running generators that power them. It’s safe and performant and more durable.
I think a cooler idea is more bike like platforms, something around 750 ibs, that can fly and hover. Maybe with articulating sections like a Gundam or something. Covers the face and blocks the wind a bit for comfort. That would be cool and maybe more like new car priced.
I wasn’t saying it couldn’t be done, I was saying drones as vehicles doesn’t seem viable (economically or for safety reasons).
Also, when you put in bigger batteries you increase the weight, thus increasing the amount of power you need to fly the drone. If these ventures say their drones get 20-30 minutes of flight I would assume that’s got to be around the current sweet spot.
You’re idea for making it more bike-like might be able to help with flight time (if drag doesn’t become a larger problem), but I don’t think commercially anyone is going to want to fly unprotected from wind and the elements.
I would fly that bitch everyday and twice a day when I’m drunk.