Man I hope this concept never "gets off the ground". I don't trust the average person in a car. Let alone in a flying machine? But it seems like such a waste of a concept. Probably can't use it in most cities, with big airports usually claiming the airspace around them. This one still requires a runway to take off. Try and find the space for that in a city.

What a terrible article. Trying to instill FOMO just because the Chinese are coming for it!!!!, despite the technology being destined to be exclusively used for rich people's toys.

"This brave new world of personal transport is acting as a great leveller," said aviation consultant Steve Wright.

Compared to cars: Energy consumption is much higher. Physical space use is higher. Material use is higher. Steering difficulty is higher. Insurance rates are going to be much higher. (...)

Flying cars are the stuff politicans love, because they do not have to change anything about car centric infrastructure at all, do not have to buitl public transport and only the rich can afford them. We call the helicopters today.

We've had viable "flying cars" since the 70s. We call them helicopters.

Unfortunately for the futurists, there is a major floor with flying cars, and that's the failure mode. If a car breaks down, it stops. If 2 cars crash, they come to a stop, generally in the road. If a helicopter breaks down, it will have a very bad time, even in the best case. If 2 helicopters crash, then both will almost certainly plummet to their doom, as well as risking those below them.

Because of this, the regulations are a lot stricter on flying cars. This makes them a lot less practical or economically viable. Any other variant will run into the same limitations.

They successfully unloaded their failed company on some greater fool. These things will never be viable for anything other than being rich people toys.

At least they bought the tech this time instead of just copying it. Shame for us though

A "flying car" is just a small, cheap plane/helicopter/quadcopter

It's not a flying car, it's a shitty car that can with some effort be turned into a rather shitty airplane. At that point it's functionally an airplane, doing everything an (shitty) airplane can do and none of the things a car can do. When it's turned into a car again it can do none of the airplane things and only do everything a (shitty) car can do.

Calling it a flying car is just playing on peoples fictional vision of what a flying car is and then leaves them disappointed when they see this thing.

Not to say it isn't a marvelous piece of engineering and deserving of admiration for this, but more in the way we admire a piece of art.