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| What most
closely matches your initial thoughts on a flying car?: | |
| The
Program continued
Let's expand on the information a slightly different context for a moment. Affordability
With
an airplane only, you can tie it down outside and pay increased maintenance costs,
or you can hangar it, and over a 5-year period, in California you pay as much
for the hangar as you initially paid for the kit itself. However, a flying car
you can keep in your garage and use the car a lot more than the 100 hours per
year the average pilot flies his aircraft. Also, with the Volante's separate flying
and driving engines you do not accumulate expensive aircraft engine hours in driving
around town as you will with a single engine for both air and ground use, and
when used as a car alone you do not need to expose the aircraft parts, which are
very expensive to repair, to traffic damage. Utility
This average
pilot does not fly enough to maintain proficiency in all types of weather. Accident
reports are full of harrowing tales of the pilot who thought he saw a hole up
ahead, however, with a flying car the pilot can drive to the airport, take off,
fly up to the edge of a weather system, land, drive to the other side to continue
flight to his destination airport, and then drive the car portion to his actual
final destination. He has no need to take chances. This avoids the vacation trip
that turns into a nightmare when weather between you and where you want to go
keeps you grounded for days on end. Convenience
While the convenience
and reliability of scheduled airlines is questionable at best, travel with them
has become vastly more complicated and time consuming due to the added 9/11 security
measures. Prior to 9/11, the average speed for an airline distance of 500 miles
was estimated at between 50 and 60 mph door to door, today this speed has been
reduced dramatically due to security measures and increased airway traffic. As
a further advantage, the pilot of a flying car is able to avoid the frequently
overly long commute from the closest airline airport to a final destination, which
normally has a small airport of its own often without rental cars. In some areas,
the flying car capability may be the only available ground transportation. A
third way of looking at the problem below: CAR/AIRCRAFT/FLYING
CAR COMPARISON
| What
do you want? | Car |
Aircraft |
Flying Car | Door-to-door
convenience
| Yes | No |
Yes | Operable in any
weather with low-cost/ training/proficiency
|
Yes | No |
Yes | | High speed with safety | No | Yes |
Yes | | Minimum
transportation system investment | No | No |
Yes | | Minimum storage and upkeep | No | No |
Yes | | Minimum
operating costs | No | No |
Yes | As you will note in many, but not all of the advantages
noted above, I have evaluated in terms of the interests of the traveler of limited
means compared to the corporate executive or affluent pilot for whom cost is not
an issue For example, hangar rent in the Los Angeles area, when rarely available,
runs close to, or above 400 dollars. You may well think of others. If you do,
let me know and we will build up a knowledge base together. Feel free to contact
me. Please, also feel free to pick holes in my logic and send them to me as
well. << Back Continue>> 1
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