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  3. Flying cars crash into each other at Chinese air show

Flying cars crash into each other at Chinese air show

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nottheonion
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  • N [email protected]

    the flying "car" in question. Just seems like a quadcopter to me, but I guess that's why I'm not in marketing.

    I This user is from outside of this forum
    I This user is from outside of this forum
    [email protected]
    wrote last edited by
    #23

    Hexacopter, but yeah, basically a microlight helicopter.

    1 Reply Last reply
    6
    • fuglyduck@lemmy.worldF [email protected]

      Flying cars are, inherently, more dangerous than that.

      Helicopters have loads of systems and design features that minimize the risks- and just to clarify, they're less likely to be involved in an incident than GA aircraft to begin with. they're absolute shit at gliding, so a loss of lift results in- at best- a controlled crash- where a plane has time. They're also more likely to be in the situation where they do not have the altitude or airspeed to glide even if they weren't dogshit at it, which combine to make them more dangerous to be in an incident with, but still not necessarily "unsafe".

      Flying cars would be significantly worse than helicopters, as they have the same glide profile, presumably the same propensity for low-and-slow flight regimes; and probably an inability to autorotate as well (depends on the design. most of the ideas I've seen lately are some form of multirotor.)

      Though that comment had nothing to do with their inherent lack of safety. It has everything to do with hybridizing land and air vehicles like that never actually works out well. They're going to be significantly more expensive than either specialized counterpart, less efficient, and less useful. This is why we've never seen them come off with commercial success before, and why we're likely to never see them work, ever. The mechanical nature of something that can both drive on a highway and fly is insanely complex.

      And even with all that, they're also going to be significantly less safe than helicopters are today, probably spending far more time in the low-and-slow regime which makes incidents dramatically more unsafe, and given the usual argument of "reduces traffic" almost certainly going to be flown in areas with significant human presence (making them more likely to crash into someone.)

      I This user is from outside of this forum
      I This user is from outside of this forum
      [email protected]
      wrote last edited by
      #24

      There's no specific aircraft type that fits the description of a "flying car", there are fixed wing, gyrocopter, and likely traditional helicopter designs. While they're all considered experimental, there's nothing inherently unsafe about them.

      Also, helicopters can autorotate, and land in some very tight places, so what you lose in glide distance, you gain in options of where to put the aircraft down.

      fuglyduck@lemmy.worldF 1 Reply Last reply
      1
      • R [email protected]

        cross-posted from: https://lemy.lol/post/52477761

        H This user is from outside of this forum
        H This user is from outside of this forum
        [email protected]
        wrote last edited by
        #25

        Does anyone know how these flying cars are different from helicopters?

        captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.worksC M R 3 Replies Last reply
        0
        • L [email protected]

          Air travel is considered to be among the safest methods of travel.

          .....but thats only because historically we only let experts operate those vehicles. You thought it was bad to drink and drive? Wait until uncle Randy has 250 hours logged to get a liscense, and he drinks and flies!

          dan1101@lemmy.worldD This user is from outside of this forum
          dan1101@lemmy.worldD This user is from outside of this forum
          [email protected]
          wrote last edited by
          #26

          I am not looking forward to random idiots falling from the sky onto my property.

          1 Reply Last reply
          1
          • I [email protected]

            There's no specific aircraft type that fits the description of a "flying car", there are fixed wing, gyrocopter, and likely traditional helicopter designs. While they're all considered experimental, there's nothing inherently unsafe about them.

            Also, helicopters can autorotate, and land in some very tight places, so what you lose in glide distance, you gain in options of where to put the aircraft down.

            fuglyduck@lemmy.worldF This user is from outside of this forum
            fuglyduck@lemmy.worldF This user is from outside of this forum
            [email protected]
            wrote last edited by
            #27

            Landings under autorotation (especially unplanned landings under autorotation) are still frequently considered “controlled crashes”, even if everyone walks away.

            In any case the one common element to “flying car” is that it’s a hybrid land-air vehicles. The currently most common form are multi-rotors; because multirotors are cheap. (Which is also the reason you see them in quads and other drones.)

            No matter the design, they all suffer from hybridization. Things that are good at flying are bad on roads, and things that are good on roads are bad at flying.

            1 Reply Last reply
            1
            • H [email protected]

              Does anyone know how these flying cars are different from helicopters?

              captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.worksC This user is from outside of this forum
              captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.worksC This user is from outside of this forum
              [email protected]
              wrote last edited by
              #28

              If it's marketed to trained pilots, it's a "helicopter." If it's being marketed to untrained pilots, it's a "flying car."

              1 Reply Last reply
              5
              • L [email protected]

                Air travel is considered to be among the safest methods of travel.

                .....but thats only because historically we only let experts operate those vehicles. You thought it was bad to drink and drive? Wait until uncle Randy has 250 hours logged to get a liscense, and he drinks and flies!

                captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.worksC This user is from outside of this forum
                captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.worksC This user is from outside of this forum
                [email protected]
                wrote last edited by
                #29

                You can become a private pilot with an airplane or helicopter rating in 40 hours. 250 is for commercial pilots.

                And this shit does happen.

                1 Reply Last reply
                4
                • B [email protected]

                  They should try coding and algorithms.

                  captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.worksC This user is from outside of this forum
                  captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.worksC This user is from outside of this forum
                  [email protected]
                  wrote last edited by
                  #30

                  That reminds me of something my flight instructor told me as a teenager. If you lose your engine at night, aim for a dark patch, because lights mean structures. Set up for an emergency landing as you usually would, and as you get down to short final altitude, turn your landing light on. If you don't like what you see, turn it back off.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  4
                  • M This user is from outside of this forum
                    M This user is from outside of this forum
                    [email protected]
                    wrote last edited by
                    #31

                    As long as it doesn’t go boing on the ground

                    S 1 Reply Last reply
                    2
                    • H [email protected]

                      Does anyone know how these flying cars are different from helicopters?

                      M This user is from outside of this forum
                      M This user is from outside of this forum
                      [email protected]
                      wrote last edited by
                      #32

                      Look like quadrocopter in the images.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      1
                      • tommasz@lemmy.worldT [email protected]

                        People have enough trouble driving on roads, which place at least some limits on what you can do with a vehicle. Give them a flying car with no limits on where they can go anywhere in the X, Y, and Z axes and all hell will break loose. This crash, with two experienced "drivers", is a perfect example, and they ostensibly knew what they were doing.

                        tal@olio.cafeT This user is from outside of this forum
                        tal@olio.cafeT This user is from outside of this forum
                        [email protected]
                        wrote last edited by
                        #33

                        My bet is that personal flying vehicles will happen and gradually spread --- probably not as a mass replacement for ground-based vehicles --- but it'll be fully-autonomous vehicles. It won't be Average Joe becoming a pilot.

                        EDIT: Well, okay, I mean, you can get personal flying vehicles today --- in the US, you don't need a license or anything to fly something like this:

                        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powered_parachute

                        ...whereas you do to operate a car on public roads. Just not allowed to fly over built-up areas. But I'm talking about heavier vehicles.

                        C 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • H [email protected]

                          Does anyone know how these flying cars are different from helicopters?

                          R This user is from outside of this forum
                          R This user is from outside of this forum
                          [email protected]
                          wrote last edited by
                          #34

                          They’re going to be marketed to people who aren’t qualified to fly helicopters.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          7
                          • noxypaws@pawb.socialN [email protected]

                            avery brooks asking why there are no flying cars in the year 2000, from an IBM commercial

                            G This user is from outside of this forum
                            G This user is from outside of this forum
                            [email protected]
                            wrote last edited by
                            #35

                            is that Gabriel Bell?

                            W 1 Reply Last reply
                            1
                            • R [email protected]

                              cross-posted from: https://lemy.lol/post/52477761

                              A This user is from outside of this forum
                              A This user is from outside of this forum
                              [email protected]
                              wrote last edited by
                              #36

                              We're they Republ....oh from China? Surely we can say anything about foreign disasters? Maybe even mean insensitive funny comments?

                              I'm going to err on the safe side and offer a mildly spelled no comment.

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              1
                              • R This user is from outside of this forum
                                R This user is from outside of this forum
                                [email protected]
                                wrote last edited by
                                #37

                                Like airplanes?

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • L [email protected]

                                  Air travel is considered to be among the safest methods of travel.

                                  .....but thats only because historically we only let experts operate those vehicles. You thought it was bad to drink and drive? Wait until uncle Randy has 250 hours logged to get a liscense, and he drinks and flies!

                                  C This user is from outside of this forum
                                  C This user is from outside of this forum
                                  [email protected]
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #38

                                  It took decades an many lives to get there, people tend to forget that.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  3
                                  • G [email protected]

                                    is that Gabriel Bell?

                                    W This user is from outside of this forum
                                    W This user is from outside of this forum
                                    [email protected]
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #39

                                    It's Benny Russell.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • B [email protected]

                                      They should try coding and algorithms.

                                      W This user is from outside of this forum
                                      W This user is from outside of this forum
                                      [email protected]
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #40

                                      https://youtu.be/sCa0DsfTAjY

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • M [email protected]

                                        As long as it doesn’t go boing on the ground

                                        S This user is from outside of this forum
                                        S This user is from outside of this forum
                                        [email protected]
                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #41

                                        Also shouldn't have a bombardier on board.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        1
                                        • N [email protected]

                                          the flying "car" in question. Just seems like a quadcopter to me, but I guess that's why I'm not in marketing.

                                          m137@lemmy.worldM This user is from outside of this forum
                                          m137@lemmy.worldM This user is from outside of this forum
                                          [email protected]
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #42

                                          Congratulations, you can't count to 6.

                                          C 1 Reply Last reply
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