The Japanese have put the finishing touches on the first flying car, which is about to be launched on the market.
Flying cars are getting closer to becoming a reality, and the Japanese are the ones who want to break the ice, as usual. They have already successfully completed a first test flight and are counting on the sale of the first flying vehicles within the next 3 years.
The video below presents the flying machine that the Japanese will sure be renowned for. During the test, it rose from the ground to a height of two meters and moved smoothly for four minutes. However, the vehicle can only carry one passenger. For now, it can fly for a maximum of 10 minutes, but the manufacturing company wants to extend this duration to half an hour.
Tomohiro Fukuzawa, president of SkyDrive Inc explains that in the event of a breakdown or if an engine stops running, the car will continue to fly even with one propeller (out of four in total). Moreover, even if the vehicle crashes, it is designed to absorb the shock, so it will not cause very serious injuries to the passenger.
According to the developers, with the help of this revolutionary car, both airport and traffic jams can be avoided. In addition, the car will make intervention in disaster areas easier. Nevertheless, marketing involves important challenges for the manufacturer, from battery sizes to air traffic control.
Tomohiro Fukuzawa adds that an important unique feature of the car is its small size, which makes possible for it to take off from a small place, such as the flat roof of a shop. The manufactures aim for people to be able to fly with such cars every day in the future.