Flying car seen as solution for rescue

I'm with you up to the point where you mentioned trying to hover in a 150 mph wind.... Not much of anything hovers well in that kind of cross wind. Other articles indicate that we're getting real close to flying cars for public consumption... with the attendant headache of aerial congestion and FAA regulations.

Another old idea resurrected. Look up Hiller VZ-1. In fact, google Military Ducted Fan Vehicles and you'll find an amazing array of attempts at this concept from the "Flying Jeep" to the Hiller VZ-1. they're all faced with the same problem and that is: if the engine(s) crap, you're DEAD and air breathing engines don't like smoke and ash filled environments. Just ask any "water bomber" pilot...

I have lost count of how many people have claimed to be just about ready to put their flying car into production. Either they are all overly optimistic or we can expect the ground based traffic chaos we already have to spread in a third dimension really soon.

Flying Trashcans have been around in theory and practice for years - just watch any old Johnny Quest cartoons! The U.S. Army worked with them in the '60's and '70's, then tried reviving the mess in the '90's without much success. I think the main problems were that the fuel consumption was astronomical, and of course that whole clean air thing - you lose your turbine anywhere above the ground and you get the glide-slope of a brick!

As for getting soldiers from behind enemy lines, nothing will ever beats a gunship coming in and laying down 6,000 rounds per minute!

Gentlemen,...that's why we're here!...take it easy Masu!...don't lose hope yet,..'Flying Thrashcan' and its building block concept/variations has come a long way with regards to available powerplant cum thrusters - they're much lighter and more reliable. ..not really sure about consumption being an issue,..look at car engines today, besides, the best place to market VTOL at this stage would certainly be the leisure/sports market. I think this is the best route to making the concept of VTOL a widely accepted reality.

A little intro. here