There are other things we can, and should, put forth, that are actually realistic. True, universal, personal rapid transit, for example. Something like that would be much more useful (not to mention safer) than any concept of a flying car.
^ I was thinking more of a Personal rapid transit system. The one in ATL is basically the same as a subway car, with dozens of people in it at any given time. Ideally, a truly personal system would have a car available whenever anyone, even one person at at a time, wanted to use it. Since the whole thing would be controlled by computer anyway (as would any flying car system), it would be intelligent enough to have a car waiting for you when you needed one, and return it to the 'pool' when you're done. No waiting.
The problem there is cleaning the car out after each use, which is usually done by a rental company. Otherwise you have peanuts, cat hairs, and beer cans rolling around the floorboards.
When people think of flying cars, they think of the spinner. When people think spaceships to LEO, they think Orion III from 2001. Yet spacecraft don't need wings in a vacuum, but craft need wings to fly in an atmosphere. This is why we have airplanes and capsules, not flying cars and SSTO spaceplanes. Here's hoping for anti-gravity. Not holding my breath though.
Your grandfather could have bought a flying car in 1946. The fact there are none around except in museums says a lot. http://www.airventuremuseum.org/collection/aircraft/Taylor%20Aerocar.asp ....and as far as weather, try going up in a Cessna in ANY weather. You can drive your car through far worse than would ground a 747...
A spelling error I know, but for a moment there ... The flying car without a elaborate air traffic control system would be the main problem as i see it. Having tens of millions of people in the their individual flying cars operating completely by VFR would be a horror story.
Unbolt the the removable wings and tail structure and it becomes a car with really tiny wheels. But it's true, every so-called "flying car" or "roadable aircraft" that's been built has been a bad compromise, neither fish nor fowl. Like the spork.
I'm still waiting on a hoverboard. And it doesn't even have to be a Pit Bull...I'll take the Mattel version. They all work on the same principles even if some don't have rocket boosters.
Hmm, especially if they are all competing to join the mile high club. I think we have to learn to crawl before we learn to run, so I have no problem letting society learn to deal with flyable cars, or roadble planes first. Once we catch on we can http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE2Ij7Rfw1Q&feature=relmfu Its kind of like asking the horse and buggy generation to consider driving a lexus on a five lane freeway at 75 miles an hour in heavy traffic. [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE2Ij7Rfw1Q&feature=relmfu[/yt]