Engineering News Blog

Engineering News

Latest news of interest to engineers. Sourced from GlobalSpec's Engineering News

Previous in Blog: Victor Multi-Kill trap electrocutes mice   Next in Blog: Plasma Turns Garbage into Gas
Close
Close
Close
3 comments
Rate Comments: Nested

Flying Ferrari Only Two Years Away

Posted November 03, 2008 8:44 AM

From OhGizmo!:

Alright, here's the good news: in as few as two years, you may be able to purchase a Ferrari 599 GTB, capable of vertical takeoff and sustained flight at up to 150 mph with a range of 75 miles. It'll have a hybrid electric engine developing up to 800 hp, powering eight ducted fans mounted in the fuselage that can push the car around while it's on the ground (kinda like a hovercraft, I guess), or direct thrust downward for liftoff. Once airborne, the car maneuvers like a helicopter, rolling to turn and changing pitch to move forward or backward. Ready for the bad news? It's not the estimated price of $813,000. No, it's the fact that the car is being developed by Moller International, the same Moller International who has been promising us a flying car for the last five years or so. How's it been going? Well, I just checked, and there's no M400x in my driveway.

Read the whole article

Reply

Interested in this topic? By joining CR4 you can "subscribe" to
this discussion and receive notification when new comments are added.
Guru
New Zealand - Member - Interested in everything- see my Profile please APIX Pilot Plant Design Project - Member - Member Engineering Fields - Electrical Engineering - Member Engineering Fields - Power Engineering - Member Engineering Fields - Civil Engineering - Member Hobbies - Musician - Autoharp and Harmonica Hobbies - Hunting - Member Hobbies - Fishing - Member

Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Christchurch, (The Garden City), South Island, New Zealand
Posts: 4395
Good Answers: 230
#1

Re: Flying Ferrari Only Two Years Away

11/04/2008 12:43 AM

A whole new driving licence would be required.

Then a whole new collection of speed traps, along with the requisite enforcers.

A crash overhead will mean the debris will crash down on the unsuspecting.

A whole new set of opportunities for Insurance Companies and Lawyers to get more of everyone's money.

Kind Regards....

__________________
"The number of inventions increases faster than the need for them at the time" - SparkY
Reply
Power-User
Canada - Member - BC Born, Alberta Raised, Quebec (poutine) crazed... Engineering Fields - Aerospace Engineering - An airplane is just a bunch of beams... Hobbies - Model Rocketry - Had fun as a kid...fun stuff Hobbies - CNC - dreaming of cutting Engineering Fields - Control Engineering - PID ME!

Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Montreal, CANADA
Posts: 368
Good Answers: 10
#2

Re: Flying Ferrari Only Two Years Away

11/04/2008 8:35 AM

Too big a change, too quickly for mass use. Imagine taxi-drivers with a high paying rider trying to cut through traffic a bit faster...(the same problem applies for the VLJ 'Very-Light-Jet' air taxi services that are supposed to surface soon).

Personally I think Mr Moller has just found yet another source of research funds to waste. The amount of money he's blown to have no operating prototypes is astounding. I know a local guy here in Quebec that has blown crazy amounts of money trying to reinvent the wheel just to have investors get fed up and drop him flat. Enter round 2 or finding investors and starting over.

Actually I just checked Moller.com and it was all based on a presentation he gave at 2008 SAE Wichita Aviation Technology Congress &

Exhibition. http://www.moller.com/downloads/Autovolantor.pdf ...looks like they based the wind tunnel model on a Ferrari. Seems a waste of time to take a existing car design (that would generally, for a high performance vehicle, be made to generate downforce), attach a couple airfoils on it and expect it to fly. Seems like a pretty inefficient way to fly. Perhaps someone should explain to Mr Moller some basic relationships between lift and drag before he wastes any more of someone else's money.

A hybrid, flying car.... Why(?!?!?!?) would anyone listen to him talk about anything hybrid if he can't get the flying car to work to begin with?!?

__________________
kkjensen
Reply
Associate

Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 50
#3

Re: Flying Ferrari Only Two Years Away

11/04/2008 11:56 AM

Even I like the enthusiasm around this idea of next generations flying technologies, but this Flying Ferrari it seems to me like a steam engine locomotive trying to reach the Moon. Actually the whole space industry suffers of this disease. I agree with our friend from New Zealand that (if would happen....) it would be another job secure for the bunch of insurance companies swallowing the money like a black hole.

__________________
Nothing is wrong, everything is true!
Reply
Reply to Blog Entry 3 comments
Copy to Clipboard

Users who posted comments:

Dumitru (1); kkjensen (1); Sparkstation (1)

Previous in Blog: Victor Multi-Kill trap electrocutes mice   Next in Blog: Plasma Turns Garbage into Gas

Advertisement