The Future Of Flying Cars: How Unique Red Tape & Regulation May Ground Them All Before Take Off

Flying cars are all the rage right now. Everyone wants to build one, or fly one, tired of traffic jams on terra firma.

Just this week news emerged that a British company wants to build flying cars. Then there¡¯s the Terrafugia that has been trying to build the Transition flying car since 2006. The company was recently bought by Geely of China. Geely also happens to own Volvo!

Terrafugia

While flying cars are still part of a rather vivid dream, the reality however is slightly less romantic, full of red tape and regulations. All of which has to be dealt with by the promoters of this new industry. These rules are regarding not just the construction of the cars but also about how to manage flying vehicles criss-crossing the skies.

Unique rules, regulations and waivers

Since the vehicles will have to both be driven and flown, they¡¯ll have to meet the regulations for both cars and aircraft. And will have to be certified by concerned authorities separately. For road use, the vehicles will have to meet the crash safety norms that are prevalent in the country of sale to be eligible to be driven on the roads. Over the years, this bid for safety has led to increase in weight of cars because of additional structural reinforcements and safety kit.

The case of Terrafugia is interesting in this regard. The company got itself a waiver from meeting crash testing standards and for this it has to market the Transition not as a production but a kit car. Since the Transition couldn¡¯t meet the weight limits of the light sports aircraft either, the company had to seek exemption from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), the agency that regulates all aspects of aviation in America. The exemption allowed the Transition to meet the Maximum Takeoff Weight limit of amphibious light sport aircraft of 650 kg.

Then there¡¯s the matter of flying related equipment that planes require. While a car makes do with a speedometer, tachometer, the foot levers and steering, an aircraft needs altimeter, airspeed indicator, vertical speed indicator, compass, attitude indicator, heading indicator, turn indicator to name a few. Other controls like the stick and throttle will have to be incorporated as well. So it doesn¡¯t take a genius to understand that one has to be well-trained to fly a plane -- a task vastly more difficult than driving a car on the road, with all due respect.

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Of drivers and pilots

Which brings us to the licensing. One of the simpler pilot licences that one can get anywhere in the world is the Sport Pilot licence that was introduced in US in 2004. To obtain this, one has to log at least 20 hours of flying time including 5 hours of solo flying. One also has to pass a written and an oral exam. Compared to that, one can easily pay his/her way to a driver¡¯s licence in India.

Another regulation related hitch is that of meeting the emission norms. Stricter norms for cars has made engines smaller and more fuel efficient, while on the other hand aircrafts aren¡¯t regulated by the same norms. The moment a flying car leaves the ground, the engine is no longer required to comply with the norms. Another area of concern is accidents. An accident on the road is bad to begin with, the dynamics change completely in the air. The flying car has to prove its handling capability in the air and an ability to recover from adverse situations like a spin.

Moller

Sky roads and air traffic management

Lastly, traffic. For those who don¡¯t know, an aircraft is not free to fly in any direction or at any altitude that the pilot fancies. They have to be flown in pre-designated ¡®airways¡¯. Imagine these airways crisscrossing the city¡¯s airspace. Once flying cars become commonplace, these will become as bad as roads are today. Also, there¡¯ll be a need for an infrastructure of ground controllers to keep an eye on all the flying cars in the air.

So if you were a bit too excited about getting in the cockpit of a flying car and fly it around, be happy with manoeuvring a car through its steering wheel for now.