Flying cars could hit the market soon

Dr. Nikola Tesla, at the start of the twentieth century, was the first individual who had said that one day we would reach our workplaces flying. It was not some wild imagination, but he had based his statement on his discovery of VTOL or Vertical Take-Off and Landing vehicle. Dr. Tesla had very clearly published the details of the working and design of the VTOL model or a flying car, for which he also had a patent to his name.

Dr. Nikola Tesla was way ahead of his time. However, despite his patent, we still continue to just dream about reaching offices or going out in flying cars. However, many successful attempts and trials have been conducted to make flying cars become a reality in the last few years. The latest such efforts happened in Australia.

Recently, a company named Alauda Aeronautics successfully tested a full-size pilotless 'flying race car' for the first time. Not just any car but a race car! The developer is planning to hold remotely piloted races later this year at three international locations. According to Alauda, its Mk3 Airspeeder is a multicopter craft based on a 'Formula 1' car. The ratio of the power its engine can produce to its weight is greater than even an F-15 fighter jet. Next, they hope to race manned drones or VTOL vehicles.

At the same time, one of the world's leading aircraft leasing firms, Ireland's Avolon Aerospace, has said that flying taxis hamper the future of passenger planes. Having said that, they have invested $2 billion in developing aerial shuttles. Avolon is also to launch up to 1,000 electric VTOL aircraft being developed by UK's Vertical Aerospace.

However, the introduction of flying cars will be a sort of business and even a social disruption. Their coming will trigger changes in the rules of civil aviation. Also, infrastructure will have to be created for their parking, fueling/charging, maintenance, etc. Flying cars will have a wide-ranging impact not only on aviation but also on many other sectors like automobiles, petroleum, electric batteries, policing and security, public transport, etc.

Overall, it appears that flying cars may hit the market soon and bring about a major change to transport and mobility.