Fancy car

FLIGHT OF FANCY

  Flying car -- powered by clean technology -- to take to skies by December.

                               flight tests of the first prototype are slated for the end of 2017.

  We live in a time where fully autonomous cars are close to         becoming a reality, and more than one company is working towards taking humans to Mars. Consider all this, and it's almost surprising that flying cars haven't taken to the skies yet. But it turns out we may not have to wait too long. Airbus is planning to test a prototype, named Project Vahana, not only for a flying car but an autonomous flying car, by the end of 2017.

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More like a flying helicopter 

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 The current design looks less flying car and more flying car and more flying helicopter, which is slightly less exciting.  

  The aircraft has eight rotors on two sets of wings, both of which tilt depending on whether the car's flying vertically or horizontally.

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 There's room for a single passenger under a canopy that retracts like a visor.

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  And if something goes wrong, the Vahana will come equipped with a ballistic parachute that works even at low altitudes.

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Project Vahana

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  The project was launched in February 2016 and is one of the first project at A3, the advanced projects and partnerships outpost of Airbus Group in Silicon Valley.

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  The first conceptual renders have been revealed showing a sleek self-flying aircraft with room for one passenger who sits under a canopy that retracts similar to a motorcycle helmet visor.

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  It's also believed that the self-piloted aircraft will take of and land vertically, as there are helicopter-like struts,and tilting wings each with four electric motors.

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  The team at Vahana aims to have a full-sized prototype built by 2017 and a demonstration model by 2020.

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 " One hundred years ago, urban transport went underground, now we have the technological wherewithal to go above ground. We are in an experimentation phase, we take this development very seriously." Vahana is a Sanskrit word that refers to the vehicle or mount of a god.

                    A HISTORY OF FLYING CARS

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Flying cars sound cool, but you might want to put the brakes on your fantasies. For years. man has dreamt of taking his hotrod to the skies.

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1941 Henson Aerial Steam Carriage

William Samuel Henson and John Stringfellow- the Wright brothers before the Wright brothers exited- patented this flying car in 1841. The duo were never able to build a functional version of their monoplane, which had a theoretical wingspan of 150 feet.

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1923 Pitcairn PCA-2

Autogyros are the true predecessors of flying cars and Harold F Pitcairn's PCA-2 was sold on the mass market. It was the first rotary-wing aircraft to achieve type certification in the United States, and one promotional stunt landed on the White House lawn during Herbert Hover's presidency.

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1947 ConVairCar Model 118

The ConVairCar, Model 118 flying car was not a hoax,as evidenced by this test flight in California in November 1947. Theodore P Hall designed this creation for the Company. The one-hour demonstration flight ended early due to low fuel,an emergency landing that destroyed the car and damaged the plane's wings. Everyone survived--that is,everyone except the ConVairCar dream.

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1990 The Sky Commuter

For $71,500, you could own the Sky Commuter concept car,developed by Boeing engineers in the '80s. Run on a gas turbine engine and helicopter--like drive shafts, the Commuter was an alternative to planes--strapped-to-cars of the past. Boeing spent $6 million developing the car,though it only appeared in history books.

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2003 The M400 Sky-car

Meet the true Jetson vehicle. A "VTOL" (vertical take-off and landing)flying car, the M400 is the life's work of inventor Paul Moller.

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