# Reasons why we will never see flying cars: Home Land Security? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 25, 2003, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-we-will-never-see-flying-cars-home-land-security/190850 "2003-07-25T13:19:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-we-will-never-see-flying-cars-home-land-security/190850/21 "2003-07-26T17:37:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phlosphr \* > \*\*Though I agree with you **Sam** , I can’t help but wonder if your statement will be looked at in 50 years as being slightly humorous: I mean if only 80 years ago I had said, “We will have little boxes with glass fronts that people around the world en masse will be watching for hours on end everyday, someday.” > > I’d have been put in the luney bin. > \*\* Or you’d be Philo Farnsworth or John Logie Baird. [http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/story085.htm](http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/story085.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-we-will-never-see-flying-cars-home-land-security/190850/22 "2003-07-26T18:35:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > \*\*Obviously, the proper use of flying cars/vans would be ambulances. > > Why doesn’t somebody see this? 😕\*\* Am I being whooshed? We’ve had ambulance helicopters (trauma helis, or however you want to call them) here in cities in the Netherlands for years (with certain restrictions though, because of the noise and possibly cost). I always assumed that they would exist in every major city in the industrialized countries. Isn’t that the case? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-we-will-never-see-flying-cars-home-land-security/190850/23 "2003-07-26T19:28:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tusculan \* > \*\*Am I being whooshed? We’ve had ambulance helicopters (trauma helis, or however you want to call them) here in cities in the Netherlands for years (with certain restrictions though, because of the noise and possibly cost). I always assumed that they would exist in every major city in the industrialized countries. Isn’t that the case? \*\* Didja read the rest of **Bosda** ’s post? He lists the problems that ambulance helicopters _do_ have, and then theorizes (though admittedly because of a typo on his part it looks like he’s saying the opposite) that flying cars _wouldn’t_ have these kinds of problems. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-we-will-never-see-flying-cars-home-land-security/190850/24 "2003-07-26T21:12:04Z")
Ah, sorry, Tuckerfan, I misread that later bit. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_Munkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Sock\_Munkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_Munkey)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-we-will-never-see-flying-cars-home-land-security/190850/25 "2003-07-27T03:22:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > **The reason you _don’t_ see flying cars is that there’s no _need_ for them. Right now, people have plenty of options for travelling. They can use public transportation, commercial transportation, or private transportation. Take one of those things away and you _might_ see flying cars, but not for the poor schmucks, just the wealthy few.** This is why, I (technology lover that I am) never get too excited over stories about developments about flying cars because whoop-de-do here is another technological wonder for the rich that I will never be affected by or even come within a hundred yards of. Now, if Moller really wanted to make something for the general public he would just take one of those engine nacelles off his flying car and stick a seat, fuel tank, and handlebars on it and make a badass flying motorcycle. Seeing people race something like that would seriously rule. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-we-will-never-see-flying-cars-home-land-security/190850/26 "2003-07-27T04:02:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Broomstick \* > **(Under 60,000 feet, the space shuttle is subject to air traffic control just like everybody else in the air)** Just curious, do you have a reference where I can read more about the shuttle being subject to ATC just like everyone else? Seems unlikely to me, but I’m willing to be educated. I just can’t imagine NASA calling FSS to file an IFR flight plan for the Class A transition. Is the shuttle expected to see and avoid like everyone else? > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Broomstick \* > **Seriously, this sort of thing reminds me of the day I couldn’t start an airplane - complete electrical failure, drained battery, everything. After checking weather, regulations** I was also wondering how you legally made this flight without working fuel gauges. Or were the fuel gauges not electric in this airplane? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-we-will-never-see-flying-cars-home-land-security/190850/27 "2003-07-27T04:58:44Z")
You need fuel gauges like my Grumman AA1’s - sight tubes in the cockpit. Which, after about 5 years of flying I never looked at once. Horrible things. Never trusted them. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-we-will-never-see-flying-cars-home-land-security/190850/28 "2003-07-27T11:16:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > \*\*You know, I always wonder why Dopers fixate on using flying cars for personal transport. > > Obviously, the proper use of flying cars/vans would be ambulances. > > Why doesn’t somebody see this? 😕 > > Helicopter ambulances have great difficulty in operating in urban areas due to narrow streets, overhanging eaves, & power/phone lines. Flying cars wouldn’t have these problems. \*\*_underlining by **Bosda** _ **Tuckerfan** is correct. I am a good speller, but a terrible typist. The corrected text is above. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2003, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-we-will-never-see-flying-cars-home-land-security/190850/29 "2003-07-27T12:05:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Berkut \* > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally posted by Broomstick\* > > (Under 60,000 feet, the space shuttle is subject to air traffic control just like everybody else in the air) > > Just curious, do you have a reference where I can read more about the shuttle being subject to ATC just like everyone else? Seems unlikely to me, but I’m willing to be educated. I just can’t imagine NASA calling FSS to file an IFR flight plan for the Class A transition. Is the shuttle expected to see and avoid like everyone else? I don’t have a direct cite at this moment in time. However, when Columbia blew up a number of media outlets made reference to this in a low key way. The FAR’s do make mention of space shuttle by name in several places, but due to the size of the darn book it would take me a bit to find every single reference. It might be easier to go to [www.faa.gov](http://www.faa.gov) and perform a search. Yes, NASA _does_ file a flight plan - civilian pilots are warned out of areas where the shuttle will be operating through the use of various restrictions, which are disseminated in advance. The precise manner in which the flight plan is filed may differ from how I do it, but the shuttle does not come plunging down out of the sky and scattering aircraft left and right without warning. Also, please remember than by the time the shuttle enters controlled airspace _it’s a glider._ A really big, fast glider, but an unpowered aircraft nontheless. It thus has right of way over all powered aircraft. The flight restrictions in effect at the time of descent serve to limit surronding traffic to a minimum, and it’s up to any pursuit craft to stay out of the shuttle’s way. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Berkut \* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Originally posted by Broomstick_ > > Seriously, this sort of thing reminds me of the day I couldn’t start an airplane - complete electrical failure, drained battery, everything. After checking weather, regulations > > I was also wondering how you legally made this flight without working fuel gauges. Or were the fuel gauges not electric in this airplane? Oh, the fuel gauges were most certainly electric and not operating - but you don’t _specifically_ need fuel _gauges_, you need a means of _determining the fuel on board_. And that’s real basic - open the tank, look inside, note quantity of fuel. You then have fuel available at take off. While flying, use quantity of fuel available at takeoff, the rate of fuel burn per hour, and the time in flight to determine how much has been used, and how much is left. Since an airplane fuel gauge is only required to be accurate when on “empty”, timing the fuel burn is more accurate than relying on the gauges during any flight. Likewise, radios are only required for Class D airspace and above - and the flight was conducted in Class E and G, to and from non-towered airports so therefore radios were not required. Transponders are not required in Class E or G either, thus that was not an issue. As I said, I did take a few minutes to review the minimums required for VFR flight and found that, despite the non-working electrical systems, the plane did conform to the _minimum_ required for that flight. Had it not, I would have called South Bend FSDO and inquired about a ferry permit. This would have left me with the problem of getting my passenger home (you can’t take passengers on ferry flights) but the home base said that if it came to that they’d send someone out to pick him up. Please don’t think I launched the plane on a lark - I took the time to make sure the flight home wouldn’t be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-we-will-never-see-flying-cars-home-land-security/190850/30 "2003-07-27T12:17:13Z")
I bought a hang glider at a yard sale once. fixed it up, already had my Hang 3 license, and took it for a test ride. Seriously, I’m not talking about right now having flying cars… I’m talking about in 50 years hypothetically, what regulations would be in place if we had cars like in Back to the Future or Jetsons. Not :rolleyes: right now of course! ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-we-will-never-see-flying-cars-home-land-security/190850/31 "2003-07-27T12:19:33Z")
Wow that sounded grouchy… _walks over to get another cup of coffee_ I love you all…I feel better now. Ahem! Where were we? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-we-will-never-see-flying-cars-home-land-security/190850.md?page=1)