<![CDATA[io9: Flying Car]]> http://cache.io9.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/io9.com.png <![CDATA[io9: Flying Car]]> http://io9.com/tag/flying car http://io9.com/tag/flying car <![CDATA[DARPA developing a robotic pilot for their flying car]]> Today the US Department of Defense announced that they would be collaborating with Carnegie Mellon University to develop an autonomous copilot for DARPA's upcoming "helicopter jeep" project. Yes, the military is developing a helicopter jeep. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5685538&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Evidence that the cars of the present are letting our grandparents down]]> This hopeful illustration from the December 1930 issue of Modern Mechanics predicted that future fellows and flappers would fly around in this highfalutin flivver. Look out your window. I see no half-crop-duster-half-jalopies whizzing around. Sorry, readers of 1930. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5636858&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[MIT Spinoff Presents Your New (Flightworthy) Ride]]> Turn in your Prius and get ready to rumble, Jetson-style. That's right: There's a new car in town, and it's flying right at you. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5138504&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Most Accurate (and Inaccurate) Predictions About Homes of the Future]]> For decades, scifi movies and futurist documentaries have promised us domestic bliss via flying cars and housecleaning droids. We may not have home heliports yet, but several old movies actually got it right when it came to predicting the crazy gadgets that would be in our homes today. We've whipped up an infographic for you (just click it to expand) that shows what nine movies predicted, and how accurate they were. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5049074&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[A Prototype Sky-Car Lifts Off in 1960]]> In 1960, helicopter pioneer Frank Piasecki successfully test drove his Piasecki VZ-8P Sky-Car (aka the "flying jeep") for the very first time—and True magazine was there. According to Piasecki:
We already have plans to turn this into a consumer product. A driver and three passengers could ride it its enclosed cockpit. The wheels will be powered so it can be driven into and out of garages. It could be flown over mountains, but we believe it will work best near the ground so that civilian operates would not have to learn complicated navigation.
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]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=391714&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Zero-G Metals Will Put a Flying Car In Every Garage]]> Get ready for the first gadgets to be stamped with the words, "Made In Space." The European Space Agency has plans to manufacture lightweight metal compounds under zero-gravity conditions on the International Space Station. The new materials could boost the efficiency of hydrogen engines and make aircraft faster, more powerful and less expensive to build. If we can achieve the proper thrust-to-weight ratio, jet-powered aircraft could become cheap enough that everyone can afford one. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=389381&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Damn Kids Joyriding Again in their Flying Cars]]> Once we finally have flying cars, authorities are going to have a bitch of a time keeping people from doing what these two hotshot pilots are planning: scaring the ever-living shit out of a pleasure boater. Granted, these are minijets with funky wings and not flying cars, but it makes you think about what might start happening in the skies once anyone can just flit around. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=380095&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[A Century-Old Flying Car]]> Tooling through the clouds in a personal aircraft dating from the first decade of the 20th century, a stylish couple anticipates the trend for oversize vehicles. As the spammers say, why settle for a tiny rocket when you can pilot a blimp? Illustration by Harry Grant Dart, Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-13554. More »
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