Originally Posted by Dave999

http://www.nasa.gov/orion/

Orion launched to space. Now it´s only 16 years until NASA plan to man it with humans(or machines) and land on Mars. Who will handle the countdown?

Originally Posted by mscion

Don't worry. Everything is under control...

http://www.engadget.com/2014/12/03/n...untdown-clock/

Originally Posted by endsormeans

Only way flying cars are going to work is if the passengers have absolutely no ability to pilot the car. Complete automation.

Imagine a sky filled with distracted pilots. Pilots who aren't 100% alert to what is happening around them.

It would be far worse than the roads...the level of awareness that is road driving is simple 2 dimensional alertness in compare - left, right, front, back......
flying expands that need for awareness to a sphere of alertness...most would find it impossible....most couldn't do it without terrible accidents occurring.

Originally Posted by endsormeans

well we may not have 5th element style cars on the horizon...
but blade runner-esque seems more probable...in the meantime...
we already have the Harrier jet ...why not a harrier car? Tech wise we already have the know-how and we build such vehicles already.

It is feasible...but it really is about practicality ($$$ wise)

A freakin' used float plane is $150 000 (at the bottom end of the price chart)
A (2 man bubble-copter) helicopter isn't any cheaper...it's just more expensive.
with current tech...even immediately foreseeable tech...to hover ...the harrier consumes vast quantities of water as coolant...which is a waste of cargo/ weight allowance...and consequently can hover a very short period of time and then must take-on more water to be able to hover again.
A harrier ain't cheap.
The tech don't come cheap...it's a LOT more than a few hundred thousand dollars for one.
Around roughly ...$25 000 000 yup that is 25 million...
Then there is the cost of full automation bumping the price up.

So... saying you could make commercial harrier-style vehicles for the public with the necessary automation for it ...it would probably be the same price sans the cost for the armour, weapons, and insane unnecessary combat engine, and increasing the seating from 2.... to for 4 to 6

Magnets are great...the super-duper magnets used on the bullet trains are almost on an enclosed track...so the train doesn't fly off....
Using the Earth as a balance point similar to the track for the bullet trains is flirting close conceptually to anti-gravity I think....

The cost....bottom line is ...
It's gotta be cheaper building material/ energy consumption/ final price tag/ repairs than what we use now for it to " take off" so-to-speak

Originally Posted by endsormeans

hahaha
yeah...
I can see it now...
stuck in a traffic jam...
you decide to fly out of it...
IF you are able to...if you have enough space to take off...from a bumper to bumper situation...
Only to find that there is air-bound grid-lock from everyone attempting to do the very same thing....
If it ever ends up we have every one being able to buy a flying car...I'll simply move further out into the wilderness.
It'll simply get too ugly... with too many people who already shouldn't be allowed on the roads suddenly allowed to fly too.

From an air safety control issue...all these flying cars will have to be fully robo-automated....it's the only way air traffic control could be feasibly done. As things stand we have been at a crisis point with not enough human air traffic controllers for a very long time...the system couldn't handle humanity taking to the air manually. It will ALL have to be fully automated. Air traffic control and the piloting of the vehicles...it is the only alternative.

If anyone is close it'll be google.
The automated google car/ plane I can see for everybody...

A manual one will be a toy for the uber-rich who have flying skills. Pure and simple.

Originally Posted by endsormeans

Nao and his cousins have the best chance wining the senior assisted living and enhanced help vote...
I think petman and wildcat are closest....militarily...just mount some guns on them...I'm sure darpa has their mitts in there.