China makes an Electric Flying Automobile

[daveklepper]

xpeng, 2-seater, verticalb 

Designejerusad by Akisa, photo from Aksa, manufactured by Xpeng, 2-seater v today's ertical take-off and landing.  

No other technical details provided in Today's Jerusal3em Post website, which mainly discussed trade/ between the Arab Near-East and China.  The "car" was any reader know moreexhibikted ikn Dubai.

Any reader know more?

 

 

 

[daveklepper]

From Steve Sattler:

An Israelis company is working on something similar.

Israel flying car:- An Israeli startup that is developing a “flying” vehicle, an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for individual consumers, said its prototype aircraft successfully completed a first hover test with regulators recently, setting the company on a path for further flight certification.

Liftoff: Israeli startup's 'flying car' aces first test

[CMStPnP]

I think it is a neat gee-whiz invention but I do not see a market for flying electric cars unless we have floating charging stations and floating parking garages stashed somewhere.     You still have to deal with congestion on the ground.    I can't see flying one through downtown Chicago with the strong gusts of wind there or any other large built up city.   

Kind of curious if China will ever invent anything possibly the broad base of consumers worldwide can use and would like to buy?    Right now all I see is outsourced products from other first world countries or stuff the Chinese have borrowed without permission.

[54light15]

Plus if these become popular there would be congestion in the air. Didn't you ever see "The Jetsons?" 

[rdamon]

My favorite.

https://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/taylor-aerocar-iii

[54light15]

I saw that one at a show in Michigan- if its the same one, it used to belong to the actor Bob Cummings who was an avid pilot. 

[Flintlock76]

54light15

I saw that one at a show in Michigan- if its the same one, it used to belong to the actor Bob Cummings who was an avid pilot. 

 

That he was!  In fact, he was taught to fly by his godfather, Orville Wright!  Bob soloed at 17 in 1927.

[Backshop]

I remember reading in either Popular Mechanics or Popular Science back in the 60s that there would be flying cars by 1970. Think of all the fatalities from fender benders.

[samfp1943]

daveklepper

From Steve Sattler:

An Israelis company is working on something similar.

Israel flying car:- An Israeli startup that is developing a “flying” vehicle, an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for individual consumers, said its prototype aircraft successfully completed a first hover test with regulators recently, setting the company on a path for further flight certification.

Liftoff: Israeli startup's 'flying car' aces first test

 

  Dave @ Dave Klepper:

Several quiestions: When will it be available, to public ? 

How much will it cost?

How long is the extension cord provided with it?

[daveklepper]

I'll confess to knowing no mjore than you.  And you might find the answers before I do.

[York1]

Dave, my message system on this forum doesn't work, so I will just contact you this way.  Sorry for the off topic post.

My daughters and I just got back from Israel and Jordan.  Here is the only picture of a train I got during the three weeks there.  This was taken from the highway in Tel Aviv.

 

[daveklepper]

I'm unhappy that we did not meet.

[Overmod]

The actual test 'mule' isn't quite as glamorous as the fancy rendering, but it has been successfully flying for some time.  Here's a recent 'tech day' account with some video that shows how the trick is done: 

[Backshop]

It's a fact that VTOL aircraft are the hardest to fly.  The transition from vertical to horizontal flight is the tricky part.  Look at all the incidents with Harriers and Ospreys.

[Ulrich]

Recreational aviation has been pretty much killed off over the last three decades due to rising costs... I wouldn't think many could afford one of these forget the skill required in flying/driving one. An injury attorney's dream! 

[Overmod]

Backshop

It's a fact that VTOL aircraft are the hardest to fly. 

I get the impression this thing doesn't transition like a tilt-rotor: it's just a big quadrotor drone with coordinated swashplates for direction.  Perhaps the nacelles tilt a bit on the boom ends, but not enough to call it 'transition' in the Osprey sense.  

A quadrotor design ought to be more amenable to early 'autonomous' control just as smaller drones of that design are.

There appear to be stacked airfoil sections heavier than quadrotor booms in that rendering, but I don't see anything in their collateral that indicates they're using wing-provided lift for transitioned forward flight.  That's probably a very, very good thing for typical uses of these flying cars...