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Comment by zxcvvcxz | Hacker News Reader

Does this not seem to be the pattern of most emerging technologies? They're bulky, not so practical, and expensive as hell. Would a consumer want to buy this now? Probably not. I think the site is more for the purpose of bringing people on-board to the project (engineers, investors, etc).

That being said, I think it's a very exciting vision with practical application. If you're a business traveler, why bother with the whole airplane + taxi or rental car system if you can stay in the same vehicle? I envision a small runway where dozens of these vehicles can take off in a very short time span from each other, being on their way. Of course aerial navigation, safety and all that will be issues that need to be overcome, but I definitely see this as being feasible (here's an idea, why not have them be self-driving AND self-flying?).

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For business travel I'm assuming convenience and time would be important factors. Anything that would take more than 2-3 hours of you personally driving or flying would be counterproductive if you can just get on a cheap commercial aircraft (with their accompanying safety record) and earn miles while you lean back and rest.

Not saying this won't have a practical purpose, but I'm not convinced business travel will be one of them. I'm thinking tesla roadster, it's a cool and expensive toy until new tech is developed that allows for more passengers, longer range, and more convenient takeoff/landing sites.

I think one of the great realizations in 15-20 years is going to be that instead of asking for flying cars we should have been asking for self-driving cars, which made flying cars feasible since non-pilots could use them.

It's also the pattern of plenty of bad ideas.

How does staying in the same vehicle help? Is it really that big of a deal to move between your car and your airplane?

Let's not forget that airplanes need a preflight inspection before you fly if you're not suicidal, and having just driven the airplane to the airport doesn't eliminate that need. Quite the contrary: being exposed to the stresses of driving will increase the need for a preflight inspection.

The time-consuming non-flying activities for an airplane are preflight inspection, flight planning, clearances, etc. A roadable airplane does nothing at all to help this.

Maybe you save two or three minutes out of your half-hour preflight activities. Whoopdedo. Meanwhile, you make up more than that lost time because your dedicated airplane is a better and faster airplane than the crazy "flying car".

Sometimes you're really just better off having separate objects doing what they do best. I don't see any push for amphibious cars, for example. Everybody seems to have accepted that you're better off buying a car and a boat separately. But somehow there's an obsession with airplane/cars. I blame The Jetsons.

I could be wrong, but I'm going to need someone to give me some sort of actual advantage to one of these things before I might think I am. It doesn't save you time, it doesn't save you money, so what's the point?

Technically you are supposed to pre-inspect your car before driving every time also. Remember the DMV course taken in high school?

Also you don't need a flight plan, that is completely optional (it is essentially a SAR service if you crash). With modern avionics you can dynamically recalculate flight paths on the fly in the cockpit.

You really don't need clearances either, unless flying into class B airspace (which you don't really want to do that with a small plane anyways). You can fly across the country without ever telling anyone.

Also having separate planes and cars has real disadvantages. What about when you arrive at the destination? You always have to rent a car. Not only that you have to store the plane which can be quite expensive. There are many advantages to this.

The difference is that failing to inspect your car before you drive might put you on the side of the road while you wait for a tow truck. Failing to preflight your airplane will kill you if you do it habitually. This is doubly true when your airplane folds up and you unfold it right before flight.

You absolutely need a flight plan. You do not need to file a flight plan, but you still need a plan. You need to know where you're going, how far it is, what the weather is like, what the weather is going to be like over the course of your trip, what your alternates are, what NOTAMs are in effect, etc. This step is, again, not optional if you enjoy living.

The price premium of these roadable airplanes will pay for decades of hangar rent and car rental, no exaggeration, so I don't see either of those as a disadvantage.

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