Jan 28, 2009: Flying Car

[xoxoxoBruce]

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.

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.

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.

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.