An aerospace design expert from UNSW Kensington School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering believes that flying cars, once a concept only seen in sci-fi movies, could soon be a reality that will help motorists travel without road congestion.
Dr Sonya Brown, a senior lecturer in Aerospace Design at UNSW Kensington, said that variants of hovering motor vehicles have been in emerging around the world as companies invest in research and development projects to fine-tune the technology and design so that flying cars would become “more versatile than traditional aircraft and helicopters.”
Engineers are working on prototype mash-ups of a drone and small aircraft. These vehicles should be able to fly above ground but below commercial airplanes and cover a distance of 250 kilometres in one ride.
“The underlying technology that’s so important with flying cars is the ability to both take off and land vertically and fly horizontally as well. This makes the mechanics much more complex than a helicopter which primarily has vertical propulsion,” Dr Brown said.
“And that’s why we’re calling them flying cars because they resemble the type of travel we would do with cars.”
Most prototypes are also designed with electrically powered rotors that operate with rechargeable batteries, which means flying cars will be sustainable green vehicles that won’t emit toxins to the environment. However, Dr Brown said engineers should also work on bringing the noise down to an acceptable level as there will be heaps of these vehicles above the sky.
“It’s important that we consider the impact the noise will have for people in their homes below.”
Dr Brown also sees a few bumps ahead before flying cars take off as regulations with traffic control use and flight paths have to be established to prevent accidents and collisions.
“If we take a closer look at some of the flying cars in development, they are flown by highly trained and qualified pilots. But if we want to make them more accessible, then we need to bring the licencing requirements down,” the expert said.
“It will be up to regulators and managing Government bodies around the world to work out what licensing category it fits into it – because currently there isn’t one.”
