# 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:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/21 "2017-04-26T03:57:20Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > **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. Also, can the endurance in flight be more than 5-10 minutes? Unless the batteries are in the floats, doesn’t seem like there’s much power capacity there. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/22 "2017-04-26T04:07:13Z")
> [@Weisshund](#): > > Show me something you can lift off out of the middle of a traffic jam If you have a vehicle that can fly, why would you get into a traffic jam in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/23 "2017-04-26T04:11:05Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > No, as a flying car it’s a terrible, impractical, unsafe idea. An actual flying car, even if workable, is a terrible, impractical, unsafe idea for common transportation. Setting aside the ridiculously high reliability or untenable redundancy necessary to assure that a mechanical failure doesn’t pose hazard to the occupants and people on the ground, the susceptibility to wind and inclement weather, the limited range and low fuel efficiency inherent in VTOL flight, and the shear amount of noise pollution that even ducted propellers or impellers would make if they operated constantly and in volume over occupied areas are all showstoppers for general use. A compact VTOL supply carrier or evacuation vehicle for emergency and battlefield use that is more protected and capable than a conventional helicopter would be welcomed, but the notion of a flying car as a commuter vehicle would basically require some kind of essentially silent antigravity propulsion technology. Then, of course, is the issue that [the same people who do things like this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKQdlXvbWSU) would have access to them. The end of civilization as we know it soon follows. Stranger ---
**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, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/24 "2017-04-26T11:00:55Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > If you have a vehicle that can fly, why would you get into a traffic jam in the first place? Because the capacity of a volume of space is not infinite. There are occasional traffic jams around hub airports, hence the need for things like “holding patterns” and air traffic control. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/25 "2017-04-26T15:12:54Z")
Go to the local Wall Mart and take the drivers of the next 9 drivers that arrive after you, place them in flying cars, in 3 dimension environment, all arrive in the same 60 second window that you do. Think about it. Flying cars is a good idea?? Bawahahaha Low visibility conditions Wind, strong or gusty or both icing conditions night time _::: shakes head & wanders away :::_ ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/26 "2017-04-26T15:17:27Z")
That thing wasnt travelling over land but if it was, you would see clouds of dust and debris flying everywhere. It also didnt fly over the other people in the boats so we really dont know the effect of the downwash. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/27 "2017-04-26T15:50:02Z")
> [@Sterling\_Archer](#): > > There’s no way anyone who buys that only flies it over water. Any aircraft with an 0:1 glide ratio should be flown over water, if at all. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/28 "2017-04-26T16:47:33Z")
All I can say, is if these things ever become legal and popular, I want to be there to watch the chaos. Your typical driver has enough problems with driving in two dimensions - put him in a three dimensional environment with a LOT of other kamikazes flying around and a great deal of hilarity (likely of a fatal nature) will occur. The mind boggles. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/29 "2017-04-26T18:02:18Z")
> [@Daylate](#): > > All I can say, is if these things ever become legal and popular, I want to be there to watch the chaos. Your typical driver has enough problems with driving in two dimensions - put him in a three dimensional environment with a LOT of other kamikazes flying around and a great deal of hilarity (likely of a fatal nature) will occur. The mind boggles. I assume they would be computer assisted. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/30 "2017-04-26T23:33:32Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Because the capacity of a volume of space is not infinite. > > There are occasional traffic jams around hub airports, hence the need for things like “holding patterns” and air traffic control. But the post I was replying to talked about escaping a traffic jam (presumably on a road) by taking off. If you had a flying vehicle, there’s no point in using roads except maybe as a take-off or landing area. A vehicle optimized for flying is going to make an awful road vehicle. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > That thing wasnt travelling over land but if it was, you would see clouds of dust and debris flying everywhere. It also didnt fly over the other people in the boats so we really dont know the effect of the downwash. And what happens when one flies directly over another. The downwash might cause it to crash. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/31 "2017-04-27T02:58:41Z")
Do they go high enough to get out of the ground effect? Or the water effect, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/32 "2017-04-27T03:06:55Z")
> [@](#): > > I assume they would be computer assisted. You’re probably right. What could possible go wrong…go wrong…go wrong…go wrong ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/33 "2017-04-27T06:02:28Z")
> [@Daylate](#): > > You’re probably right. What could possible go wrong…go wrong…go wrong…go wrong In Science Fiction, the cars would rise up and start murdering people. In the real world? They will probably be way more efficient and safer than humans. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231/34 "2017-04-27T06:30:09Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Setting aside the ridiculously high reliability or untenable redundancy necessary to assure that a mechanical failure doesn’t pose hazard to the occupants and people on the ground, the susceptibility to wind and inclement weather, the limited range and low fuel efficiency inherent in VTOL flight, and the shear amount of noise pollution that even ducted propellers or impellers would make if they operated constantly and in volume over occupied areas are all showstoppers for general use. Without making any claims on the ultimate viability or their ability to ship, the [Lilium](https://lilium.com/technology/) comes closest to addressing all of your concerns. VTOL flight isn’t inherently inefficient; wingless flight is. The Lilium certainly has plenty of motor-level redundancy, though how much that’s carried through to the electronics, batteries, and control surfaces I couldn’t say. There are people that commute by helicopter. I could see these as being a replacement that drives the costs down a bit further, just not to typical consumer levels. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larry-page-s-flying-car-is-this-a-good-idea/785231.md?page=1)