Meet 'Blackbird': A flying taxi that spins and moves in any direction thanks to new propulsion system

[Admin]

Meet 'Blackbird': A flying taxi that spins and moves in any direction thanks to new propulsion system

Meet 'Blackbird': A flying taxi that spins and moves in any direction thanks to new propulsion system : Read more

 

[Unclear Engineer]

Looks cool. But a payload limit of 750 pounds and an unspecified range at a max of 73 mph make it sound like a small commuting automobile, at best.

At least it would avoid traffic jams.

But mainly because few people could afford it.

Think what it would be like if all of the cars on the road today were traded-in for these things - traffic jams in 3D. And, what happens when you get a "fender bender"? Instead of pulling over to the shoulder, how far do you drop to the ground? And how many innocent bystanders are under the new aerial roads?

I am expecting a very limited consumer group for this, at least for quite a while.

 

[Stephan Clarkson]

@Unclear Engineer

Obviously it wont be unregulated like car traffic, the global and local navigation network would be more akin to an advanced ATC.

This is a brilliant concept that will get far and be revolutionary unique.

Absolute Efficiency though desirable is not always the key ingredient for success.

Of all flying concepts this one just looks right ! in a compact tecnically intriguing and practical fashion !

I cant wait for it to go fully commercial !

 

[George²]

It looks like an insanely expensive piece of work with fan blades. The more we advance technically, the worse performance and range we get, aren't we living in funny times, huh?

 

[Unclear Engineer]

If it requires a pilot's license, it will not be "available" to most people, and will not replace automobiles except for a few wealthy people. It might become a taxi service from airports to hotels, and maybe replace some helicopters for emergency and maybe even military tasks.

But, if it is treated like a large drone is currently treated, with minimal FAA regulation, then there would be more people adopting it if they can afford it.

We have a history of laws and regulations not keeping up with technological innovations. So, we could go the way of unnecessarily restrictive regulation, or the opposite extreme of having these things get damaged and rain down on the infrastructure below before laws catch up to limit the hazard.

Remember, the drone software has advanced tremendously toward making them easy for humans to control. That will be applicable to these devices, too.

 

[Stephan Clarkson]

I agree UE

I Would like to think of what you just described being the "beta" stage of implementation, i feel for many years this would put the system as a whole to the test which is exactly where we need to start to advance to the next stage of implementation, ( basically what china is currently doing with ehang ) until it can be adapted in more numerous ways.

 

[Classical Motion]

I don't think Ford's success was the assembly line. I think it was building a product that people could afford. Which is no longer done here. Only Asia can produce such. The price of a car is insane.