The Very Long History of Flying Cars

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Over the last year, the FAA granted Alef and Doroni Aerospace airworthiness approval for their flying cars, a flying car startup performed the “world’s first” piloted test flight, and Samson Sky’s flying sports car took to the skies. This recent news is exciting and really makes it seem like we’re ahead of the future the animated show The Jetsons imagined for us.

But the flying car isn’t new. The first one was built in 1917, and while it didn’t necessarily fly, it did get some air. Other flying vehicle prototypes were built in 1937, 1946, and so on. The first manned flight of a flying car, often called a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (VTOL), occurred in 2011. However, the events of the last year point toward a future with flying vehicles.

One thing that may be holding flying cars back, however, is regulatory caution. Let’s explore the surprisingly long history of flying cars and why it’s taking so long to get people inside them and soaring over cityscapes.

Why Can’t We Buy Flying Cars Yet? 

As anthropologist David Graeber put it, “A secret question hovers over us, a sense of disappointment, a broken promise we were given as children about what our adult world was supposed to be like,” he said. “Where, in short, are the flying cars? Where are the force fields, tractor beams, teleportation pods, antigravity sleds, tricorders, immortality drugs, colonies on Mars?”

The fictional TV show The Jetsons correctly predicted portable radios, chatbots, the robot vacuum, and video calls — so are flying cars next? Maybe, but many questions have yet to be answered.

For example, would flying cars require just a driver’s license, or would the driver also need a pilot’s license? What kind of infrastructure do we need to build? How do we merge two very different vehicle designs and still make them functional in the sky and the ground? Does the value of the flying car outweigh the associated costs?

As John Brown notes in an interview with The New York Times, “Cars have an aerodynamic that makes them hug the ground, whereas an aircraft is designed to do just the opposite. And cars need even weight distribution on all four wheels, while an aircraft has 90% of its weight on the back wheels.”

Additionally, operating an aircraft in an urban environment involves many people, including the FAA and municipalities overseeing the ground. Plus, they are loud. People would complain about the noise.

However, as technology improves and aviation becomes safer and safer, we are more prepared than ever to make a reliable, easy-to-use, and safe flying car. Batteries are lighter, electric propulsion systems are more powerful, and sensors have autonomous capabilities.

At one point, commercial flights and electric vehicles felt like a distant reality.

Which Company Is the Closest to Finalizing a Flying Car? 

3. Samson Sky’s Switchblade 

Samson Sky’s Switchblade, a trendy sports car, accomplished its first test flight in November 2023. This achievement capped 14 years of design and testing.

During the test, the Switchblade reached an altitude of 500 feet and stayed airborne for six minutes. The vehicle can reach 125 miles per hour when driving and 190 miles per hour when flying.

The company said owners can park the vehicle in their home garages, drive it to an airport with the wings and tail folded in, and switch it into flying mode in three minutes. However, owning this $170,000 vehicle requires a private pilot’s license.

Image Credit: Samson Sky

What Are the Most Practicable Applications for Flying Cars?

While it would be cool if everyone could have a flying car to use as they please, that’s unlikely to happen. That’s because we have to consider traffic, cost, and personal and surrounding safety.

However, there are three purposes that writer Gideon Lewis-Kraus told the podcast Search Engine are the most realistic applications:

• Flying golf carts on farms/ranches
• Air taxis
• Individual commuters

Flying golf cars on farms or ranches offers space to fly without congestion, while air taxis will be highly regulated and likely offer few flights. When it comes to individual commuters, wealthy people may get their hands on the first flying cars due to the high price tag and time commitment of getting a pilot’s license.

No matter the application, I’m excited to see how flying cars take off. Literally.

Brooklyn Kiosow, Digital Marketing Producer