Hey everyone yesterday I was looking into some Aviation news and found out that Boeing was invested into Wisk. I’m hoping that it’ll be the next step into our own flying electric vehicles. For right now this is just an investment for a project for Electric Air Taxi. I’m wondering if anyone would want to be able to take an air taxi for their daily commute? Is their anything you Like or Dislike about this project that Boeing just invested in?
Matthe,
I’m wondering if anyone would want to be able to take an air taxi for their daily commute?
The ability to fly over the “stall and crawl” traffic that plugs the Interstate (and other limited access divided) highways into and out of many major cities during “rush hour” in a personal helicopter (or other personal VTOL aircraft) has a real allure. But the specter of all those automobiles becoming helicopters flying overhead, and the resultant congestion of airspace, provides a much-needed reality check. An airborne “fender bender” could cause aircraft to plummet to the ground, proving fatal, where a “fender bender” on the highway is not.
The bottom line is that it probably is not practicable on a large scale.
Norm.
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Norm,
That’s true when it comes to the fender benders. In reality how many people would get their pilot license? Unless the FAA change their requirements on getting the pilot license and their proper IFR ratings too. I’m pretty sure their would be more people who would work at flight control to make sure so there wouldn’t be (Little to None) airborne “Fender Benders”. Right know it would be doing a trial run with the FAA with this and see if they would let everyday people come to get their pilot license to be able to fly these aircraft.
Matthew
Matthew,
That’s true when it comes to the fender benders. In reality how many people would get their pilot license?
It’s hard to say.
But right now, 20% of the residents of Alaska have a private pilot’s license. Many of these pilots live in Alaska’s remote “bush” communities that have no roads in or out – but not all. If you take the Alaska Railroad from the port of Seward to Anchorage, you go behind a row of perhaps a dozen houses with small airplanes parked on their back lawns. The strip of grass between the parked planes and the tracks is actually a runway. There’s at least one pilot living in each of those houses.
My guess is that the ability to bypass the gridlock on our highways would be a very strong incentive for people who commute in major urban areas to get a private pilot’s license if a small helicopter or some other small VTOL aircraft were to become available at an affordable price point.
Unless the FAA change their requirements on getting the pilot license and their proper IFR ratings too.
The present requirements don’t seem to be much of a deterrent to Alaskans. The bigger deterrent in the “lower forty-eight” is that affordable aircraft require runways.
I’m pretty sure their would be more people who would work at flight control to make sure so there wouldn’t be (Little to None) airborne “Fender Benders”.
That seems pretty costly, and probably not feasible.
Norm.
I’m pretty sure their would be more people who would work at flight control to make sure so there wouldn’t be (Little to None) airborne “Fender Benders”.
Using “Full Self Driving” as a template, putting together a “full self flying” vehicle would be far simpler. On the ground the software has to deal with trees, lights, stop signs, deer, pedestrians, potholes, and all manner of other things unique to the surface. In the air the only obstacles are going to be other vehicles - and birds.
Put 360 degree lidar/radar in every vehicle and a slice of spectrum where the each and every communicate with each other to avoid mishaps and you could put quite a few taxis in the sky, far more than you’re thinking if piloted by humans.
And it doesn’t have to be a market “for everyone”, it just has to be a profitable market that sells. Tesla or Apple is a good example; they make a minority of the products sold in their category, but manage to make a nice profit doing it.
I’m not saying this Jetson’s future is going to come to pass, just that it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
I’m not saying this Jetson’s future is going to come to pass, just that it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
To many 'psycho’s out there waiting for 15 seconds of fame.