# No rail service? Bring on the $280K flying car



## CHamilton (Aug 28, 2013)

This Flying Car Could Soon Be Yours for $279,000



> It seems like something out of _The Jetsons_, but it's real. Or at least it will be soon.
> 
> Terrafugia is perhaps just a few regulations and one very powerful battery away from clearing most of the hurdles it needs to create a flying car that consumers in the market for the equivalent of a super luxury sedan could afford.
> 
> ...


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## fairviewroad (Aug 28, 2013)

Other than a few hobbyists I can't see the market for this. Most people wouldn't find it very practical to commute, at least

for their current commute. By the time you drive to an airport, fly (at speeds not much faster than an interstate highway), land, then

drive to your office, it's hard to see how this would save you any time.

OTOH, I guess it might make it possible for people to move, say, 100 miles away from "the city" where land might be cheaper. But I still

think it only works if you happen to live and work close to an airport. Most jobs in a city core fail the second part of that test.


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## Anderson (Aug 28, 2013)

About the only plausible market I could think of would be long-distance commuters into DC or Chicago, and only then if they could wrangle a slot at National or Midway. In _that_ case, flying in, parking, and taking transit the rest of the way in might make sense. Of course, in an alternate reality where you still had the waterfront airport in Chicago...


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## George Harris (Aug 28, 2013)

This is resurrection of an idea of the 1950's. Quite a few were built, but so far as I know it never got very far. There were many practical issues. I think they could be summed primarily as being: Those features necessary for it to be a plane kept from being a good car and, Those features neccessary for it to be a car kept it from being a good plane.


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## railiner (Aug 28, 2013)

I agree that this is just a rich man's toy. Flying car concept vehicles. have been around almost as long as cars and planes have, and they have never "taken off" so to speak.

The closest any 'combination vehicle' ever came to a commercial success, was the old DAF amphibian car, that converted to a boat. There were close to 4,000 of them built

between 1961 and 1968. They were a neat way to avoid paying bridge tolls, provided you could find suitable launch ramps, and the water crossing was relatively calm without a swift current....


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