# Larry Page’s ‘flying car’. Is this a good idea? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231 "2017-04-25T18:00:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/1 "2017-04-25T18:00:01Z")
[Larry Page’s ‘flying car’](http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/24/15406208/larry-page-flying-car-kitty-hawk-flyer-prototype). So much for leisurely Sunday afternoons in a row boat fishing for bass. According to [this site](https://kittyhawk.aero/faq/) **What FAA category does the vehicle fall under?** The Flyer operates in the FAR 103 Ultralight Category of US FAA regulations. It _does not require registration_ or a pilot’s license and may be flown in uncongested areas for recreational purposes. **Where can I fly the vehicle?** The Flyer may be flown in uncongested areas in the US and _is designed to be flown over fresh water_. **Can I operate the Flyer on land?** No. The Flyer is designed to be _flown over fresh water._ **Can I operate the Flyer in a city?** No. The Flyer may be flown in uncongested areas of the US and is designed to be _flown over fresh wate_r. **Is a pilot’s license required to operate the Flyer?** You _do not_ need a pilot’s license to operate the Flyer in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/2 "2017-04-25T18:45:40Z")
Moller? Paul Moller? Is that you… again? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/3 "2017-04-25T18:54:28Z")
Why is the “fresh” part needed? It can’t be flown over saltwater? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/4 "2017-04-25T19:03:19Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Why is the “fresh” part needed? It can’t be flown over saltwater? You probably have to pay extra for the rust protection. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/5 "2017-04-25T19:13:42Z")
> [@](#): > > Larry Page’s ‘flying car’. Is this a good idea? Depends on what you mean by that. I’ve seen several prototypes for ultra-light flying vehicles, the best concepts IMHO are the autonomous drones (obviously big ones capable of flying a human passenger) wrt actual commercial possibilities. This one says up front that they don’t know what this will even be for…it seems to be an early stage concept vehicle. You don’t currently need a license to fly most ultra-lights, though it’s probably wise to get some training before actually trying to fly one. 😛 Take it from the guy who managed to crash several prototype designs when he was a junior aerospace engineering student. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/6 "2017-04-25T19:28:31Z")
Sounds like you’d better be a good swimmer. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/7 "2017-04-25T19:38:35Z")
sounds more like flying boat, instead of a car ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/8 "2017-04-25T20:05:46Z")
Or a hovercraft that isn’t reliable over a certain altitude. Or at any altitude. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/9 "2017-04-25T20:24:23Z")
> [@Daylate](#): > > Sounds like you’d better be a good swimmer. If it doesn’t land on you. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/10 "2017-04-25T20:42:47Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > [Larry Page’s ‘flying car’](http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/24/15406208/larry-page-flying-car-kitty-hawk-flyer-prototype). So much for leisurely Sunday afternoons in a row boat fishing for bass. Someone’s getting fired over that video. Larry Page, founder of Google, which makes this thing called Android (by far, the [most sold smartphone](http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/16/14634656/android-ios-market-share-blackberry-2016) OS) has the woman in the commercial for the company he backed using an iphone??? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/11 "2017-04-25T21:49:25Z")
When I saw the headline of “flying car,” I was pretty skeptical. I remember the Moller flying car scam pretty well. But the thing in that video looks FUN. Like a rich man’s Jet Ski alternative. Those things don’t have any purpose, they don’t actually provide any meaningful transportation. And I took flying lessons in the late 1970s, not quite getting to the point of getting my license, but that taught me something. That idea that I had of how wonderful it would be to fly, it was bogus. Flying itself was fun, but you have to deal with so much red tape that it’s just not worth it. Clearances, staying in touch with flight controllers, filing flight plans, staying current, going through the medical exam, all that just added too much drudgery to it. I’m not saying that stuff isn’t important for safe flying; it just isn’t the fun experience that I had envisioned. But that flying jet ski thing? That looks like FUN. ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/12 "2017-04-25T22:26:28Z")
There’s no way anyone who buys that only flies it over water. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/13 "2017-04-25T23:01:50Z")
That does not equate to flying car to me More of an over sized drone. Can not drive it down the street, so there goes the car part. Show me something you can lift off out of the middle of a traffic jam ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/14 "2017-04-25T23:20:09Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > And I took flying lessons in the late 1970s, not quite getting to the point of getting my license, but that taught me something. That idea that I had of how wonderful it would be to fly, it was bogus. Flying itself was fun, but you have to deal with so much red tape that it’s just not worth it. Clearances, staying in touch with flight controllers, filing flight plans, staying current, going through the medical exam, all that just added too much drudgery to it. I’m not saying that stuff isn’t important for safe flying; it just isn’t the fun experience that I had envisioned. > > But that flying jet ski thing? That looks like FUN. It does look like fun but it is an ultralight. I am not sure what is supposed be special about it except for the electric propellers and the fact that it (presumably) self-balances. Ultralights are almost completely unregulated in the U.S. Anyone is perfectly free to build one in their backyard and kill themselves in the process with no license whatsoever. This contraption looks really cool but so do gyrocopters, powered parachutes, ultralight trikes and lots of other inventions that have been around since the Wright Brothers. The only thing special about this one is that a billionaire is funding it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/15 "2017-04-26T01:38:33Z")
> [@Weisshund](#): > > Show me something you can lift off out of the middle of a traffic jam They would run into each other, and fall upon the other cars. Those propellers or rotors seem very small to provide lift. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/16 "2017-04-26T02:22:04Z")
> [@XT](#): > > You don’t currently need a license to fly most ultra-lights, though it’s probably wise to get some training before actually trying to fly one. You don’t need a license to fly ANY Part 103 compliant ultralight in the US. But yeah, get some training - I’ve seen accidents and been to funerals of people who didn’t. > [@CurtC](#): > > And I took flying lessons in the late 1970s, not quite getting to the point of getting my license, but that taught me something. That idea that I had of how wonderful it would be to fly, it was bogus. Flying itself was fun, but you have to deal with so much red tape that it’s just not worth it. Clearances, staying in touch with flight controllers, filing flight plans, staying current, going through the medical exam, all that just added too much drudgery to it. I’m not saying that stuff isn’t important for safe flying; it just isn’t the fun experience that I had envisioned. Well, that’s the whole thing about ultralights - fewer regulations and next to no red tape! Greater risk, though… Even with a private pilot license you can fly places that don’t require flight controllers or flight plans… but that’s over rural areas away from major hub airports. You do need to stay current and stay healthy, though. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2017, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/17 "2017-04-26T02:31:14Z")
This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. This is not a flying car. No. Really. This is not a flying “car”. Stop it. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2017, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/18 "2017-04-26T02:33:48Z")
Besides. Rotors are so [60 years ago](https://www.flyingcarsandfoodpills.com/stanley-hiller---the-real-tom-swift). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/19 "2017-04-26T02:43:48Z")
**Larry Page’s ‘flying car’. Is this a good idea?** No, as a flying car it’s a terrible, impractical, unsafe idea. As a flying jet ski that gets maybe ten feet over water and doesn’t seem to go as fast as a boat, I agree with **CurtC** - it looks like fun. Impractical, unsafe fun to be sure, but fun. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/20 "2017-04-26T03:26:39Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Impractical, unsafe fun to be sure, but fun. And think of all the YouTube videos of the crashes! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231.md?page=2)