Who never wanted a personal air transport to avoid traffic jam? The flying car also can be called eVTOL (electrical Vertical Taking-off and Landing).
Working principle
Basically it is drone technology in bigger scale. The flying car takes off with propellers moved by strong electric motors. Also it is submitted to four aerodynamic forces which have already been shown in a post about the subject. For that, some flying car prototypes have wings to keep lift in air.
Propellers pull air down and the later pushes the vehicle up, when higher the propeller’s speed, higher lift force. In a quadcopter, can be a drone or an eVTOL, two motors rotate clockwise (1 and 3), while others two rotate anticlockwise (2 and 4). Thus, resulting angular moment is zero and quadcopter stands hovering in air.
How to yaw to left or right? Needs to slow down speed in 1 and 3 motors and increase in 2 and 4 motors, vice-versa to another direction. Total angular moment isn’t zero anymore and quadcopter turns. To Roll/Pitch, must only slow down speed of 4 and increases 2, or slow down 1 and increases 3, vice-versa in case wish to lean to other side.
How about go forward and backward? Decrease rotation rate of two propellers from the same side, for example 1 and 4, and increase rate for opposite side.
Some flying car projects have engines positioned in horizontal.
Have been created hybrid flying cars, to use advantages of both electric and combustion engine vehicles. Some eVTOLs can be put in autopilot mode, pilot determines destination and the flying car is guided by GPS.
Obstacles
- To eVTOLs enter in market, it is necessary to adopt safety standards. Because an accident with flying cars would be much more fatal than with land cars.
- Exists the battery autonomy problem, due to energy density problem already shown in other posts. Commercial eVTOL will probably use negative fluoride batteries to have more autonomy.
- eVTOL use depends on the wheater, in case of storms and strong rains, isn’t possible to use with current technology.
Some flying cars which already exist
Recently, was tested a flying car prototype in Japan. Built by NEC, flew for 1 minute.
Already exist drones which can transport a person, like the EHang 184. It can carry until 100 kg, has batteries which can last 30 minutes of flight and range of 50 km. Today is used as air taxi.
This is the BlackFly, has eight propellers. Built by Californian start-up Opener, has range of 25 miles (40,23 km) of speed of 62 mph (99,77 km/h).
This hybrid flying car is the Aeromobil, was presented in 2017. Have land and air operation modes, has 6 meters length and maximum take-off weight of 960 kg.
Aeromobil with open wings.
