# Flying Cars

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-cars/731419>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [September 15, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-cars/731419 "2015-09-15T22:39:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-cars/731419/21 "2015-09-17T07:07:47Z")

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Something else: It’s not only the huge energy demands, but the physics of moving that much air. Even if the _Back to the Future_ flying car were real because of a working, compact fusion power plant like Mr.Fusion it would still be impractical as a domestic car because the enormous air blast it created on takeoff and landings would cause damage to any unsecured nearby objects.

And even if the Mr Fusion unit itself operated completely silently the air blast it generated would be deafeningly _LOUD!_\*\* The majority of most all aircraft’s noise comes from it’s propeller/rotor, not its engine. So you’d not only need a breakthrough in power generation you’d need something even more inconceivably out-there, namely some kind of anti-gravity…

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**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-cars/731419/22 "2015-09-17T15:47:38Z")

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> [@Skywatcher](#):
>
> Forbes: [a company has plans to make a flying car commercially available to the public within 24 months.](http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2015/03/16/finally-a-flying-car-could-go-on-sale-as-soon-as-2017/) That’s the AeroMobile.

Try to convince me that’s street legal in the U.S.

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**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-cars/731419/23 "2015-09-17T19:05:01Z")

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The only way a flying car would ever be practical is if somebody invents an anti-gravity device. Fixed-wing aircraft and tiny helicopters are just not going to do it, even with limitless energy.

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