The Cellar - Jan 28, 2009: Flying Car

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- - Jan 28, 2009: Flying Car (http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=19384)

Jan 28, 2009: Flying Car

They promised my Grandpa, they promised my Pop, they promised me... they lied.
They've been predicting/promising flying cars since way before the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, but other than a few examples, nothing.
Personally I think that's a good thing, considering how people drive regular cars, but the point is they've lied to us for generations.

Now this crazy Brit, Giles Cardozo, has come up with this design.

http://cellar.org/2009/skycar.jpg

Quote:

The “world’s first road legal bio-fuelled flying car” is essentially a 1,000lb (480 kilo) dune buggy with a fan motor and paragliding wing attached. It can reach altitudes of up to 15,000 feet (4,570 meters), with a normal cruising height of 2,000 to 3,000 feet (600 to 900 meters), and a flight range of 185 miles (300 kilometers).

Skycar runs on the ground on a biofuel-powered 4-cylinder, 1,000cc engine, accelerating from zero to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.5 seconds flat, has a top speed of 110 mph (180 km/h), with a range of 240 miles (306 kilometers), and an independent 4-wheel suspension to cope with the toughest terrain.

Of course it has to be "Green".
Anyway, they're going to promote this $76,000 wonder by taking a demonstration trip.

Quote:

Led by pilot Neil Laughton from West Sussex who served in the SAS, the team took off in the vehicle that can “drive like a car” and “fly like a plane” from Knightsbridge, London to begin its journey.

The expedition will travel through France, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara and the desert city of Timbuktu in Mali, with plans to drive the Skycar where there are roads, and fly over the Straits of Gibraltar, the Atlas mountains in Morocco and the trackless wastes of the Empty Quarter of the Sahara.

Their goal is to reach Timbuktu on February 20th, with a supporting group of up to 13 people following on the ground in all-terrain vehicles and motorbikes.

The team had hoped to fly the Skycar over the English Channel but were prevented by Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations. A spokesman for the CAA said there were no regulations prohibiting the Skycar from flying across the Channel, but since it doesn’t have full European certification, permission would also be needed from the French authorities.

The french are party poopers.

These days being "green" isn't enough, doing something charitable is a good way to get press/make points, too.

Quote:

But the expedition isn’t only about proving the viability of this unique vehicle. The team plans to raise more than £100,000 for a number of charities, including Alive and Kicking, which distributes footballs bearing health advice in Africa.

Uh, er... here's the Link.

dont they need a cliff to take off? wow beachs make a good air strip

but whos fault will it be for the first one to crush a boxing ring...

Quote:

footballs bearing health advice

Warm up before the game?

Kick the habit?

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
What we'll do.
Near, far, in our motor car
Oh what a happy time we'll spend.
Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Our fine four fendered friend.
Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Our fine four fendered friend.
You're sleek as a thoroughbred.
Your seats are a feather bed.
You'll turn everybody's head today.
We'll glide on our motor trip
With pride in our ownership
The envy of all we survey.
Oh Chitty You Chitty
Pretty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
We love you.

The guy should've entered the Dakar rally.

"What's that in the back?"
"Oh.. Just a tent."

Say, Man... can I get a lift?

Air brakes, I bet.

And Shawnee -:lol: Perfect!

ah, Timbuktu.....

when I was a kid, everything that was so far away as to be impossible or extrememly weird and foreign and never actually seen by western eyes was in Timbuktu.... a land of fantasy and magic....

I think I saw a flock of them around some of the staues downtown.
Poop everywhere too!

Guess that would make it Shitty, Shitty Bang Bang. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheldonrs (Post 527438)

I think I saw a flock of them around some of the staues downtown.
Poop everywhere too!

Guess that would make it Shitty, Shitty Bang Bang. :)

Fess up. You've been saving that line for years, haven't you?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dar512 (Post 527476)

Fess up. You've been saving that line for years, haven't you?

Yes. I guess you could say I've been constipated with it. :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetwater (Post 527428)

Air brakes, I bet.

And Shawnee -:lol: Perfect!

I love that movie! :)

... must build flying car... or motor cycle hmmm...

Quote:

Originally Posted by where are the fnords (Post 527409)

dont they need a cliff to take off? wow beachs make a good air strip

I dunno, these guys don't need a cliff, and it's much the same principle.
They generate their own lift by virtue of their forward momentum. First with wheels, then with the fan.
Now, the real question is what it would do on a treadmill....:crazy: :eyebrow: :headshake

What city in the world has buildings shaped like giant Faberge Easter eggs?

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillieO (Post 527605)

What city in the world has buildings shaped like giant Faberge Easter eggs?

Good point. Now that we're on the subject, how did they get permission to fly an experimental vehicle over a heavily populated downtown area?

They don't let any flight paths over downtown Chicago anymore -- unless you're the Blue Angels.

London, apparently.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wikipedia

30 St Mary Axe, also known as the Gherkin and formerly the Swiss Re Building, is a skyscraper in London's main financial district, the City of London; completed in December 2003 and opened on 28 April 2004. It is 180 metres (591 ft) in height, with 40 floors. Its construction symbolised the start of a new high-rise construction boom in London. The building's name is its address — St Mary Axe being the street it is on. The building was designed by Lord Foster, then-partner Ken Shuttleworth [1] and Arup engineers, and was constructed by Skanska of Sweden between 2001 and 2004.

Escape vehicle for 2012?

Do any of you remember the AVE Mizar? It was a Pinto crossed a detachable Cessna Skymaster. You could drive it like a car and then hook the wings on it and fly. They actually built 2 and 3 were being built when the project was scrapped. During a test flight, the Pinto detached from the aircraft section. Ouch

That building was in an episode of top gear

$76,000?!?! Table cloths and twine must be expensive as hell.

Also, @ poster #2: What the fuck is a fnord?

Quote:

30 St Mary Axe, also known as the Gherkin and formerly the Swiss Re Building, is a skyscraper in London's main financial district, the City of London; completed in December 2003 and opened on 28 April 2004. It is 180 metres (591 ft) in height, with 40 floors. Its construction symbolised the start of a new high-rise construction boom in London. The building's name is its address — St Mary Axe being the street it is on.

Also known as The Dildo and The Condom. Londoners tend to tell it like it is.

Anyway that car's not really flying. It's falling with style.

Gotta love a country with street names like St Mary Axe. WTF?

Here Avery Brooks! Here's your goddamned flying car!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrFgRAcr0jg