I agree about the government stepping in and stopping it. Too bad really- inventors might just solve the problems and things would work OK if left alone. The first mid-air collision would set the government in high gear to forbid this, tho.

Totally agree. I don't think it would be as expensive as some might think, even for the insurance.

you nailed it -- a perfectly good hundred thousand dollar aircraft
which becomes a million-dollar rarity after the faa works it over. --- j
.

Dr.Z: You dream buster! You really do not think this concept prototype will make it into viable production? Ahhh but it is a thang of beauty! Both the machine and the concept.

AJAshinoff: But the video doesn't actually show this one man machine in action. Interesting though. There was a comical review on that site and I quote it here since it's worth a laugh:

"I can think of a few people I'd like to be test pilots."
"Hope it doesn't use Windows based avionics and flight controls - that is if one values being the pilot from takeoff to landing. Mid flight ransomware - no thanks."

Hahaha -you got that right baby!!

Herb: Yes. If the USA doesn't allow unrestricted development in this area so as to get it into circulation you can bet that the Chinese will and count on the Europeans to make the design even better.

I looked up FTL and found zillions of translations --
the neatest::: Faster Than Light, followed by
Free Talk Live and Flying Tiger Line ... ? -- j
.

Actually the sky would be safer than the highway, particularly with the machines doing the 'driving'. Also, the sky is a big place. I once hears someone say that if you took every single car in a typical LA rush hour, and put em in the air, there wouldn't need to be any car closer than one mile to the next. It didn't make a lot of sense to me until I started to learn about how congestion works in computer networks, but now I get it. By having each car being able to go from source to destination more quickly, you can move the same number of cars in the same amount of time faster because each one isn't in the air as long. There are also many many more slightly different paths for them to take... I would roll out from my garage, take off from my culdesac without ever going onto all the connecting roads, merge into traffic going the same general direction (which is how airspace works now) and then split off to land on the top level of my work parking structure, which I don't remember ever seeing a car parked on.... The car folds up and goes to park on a lower level, leaving the roof open for the next guy. At the end of the day, even if the whole garage was taking off, it would still be faster than waiting for the light at the corner that jams all of us now. As you approach the exit (the roof in this case) the car would unfold, and when you are 'next in line' would spin up. After the other guy flies away, it waits a few seconds for safe distance, then also takes off, turning in a slightly different direction than he went to give additional separation, and moving to traffic heading the same general direction. Near home it again splits off the traffic pattern, and descends to the culdesac, folds up, and rolls into the garage. Because my trip was quicker, and on a slightly different path than my imaginary neighbor who live next door and works in the next building, it reduces the amount of time each of us was using airspace. Multiply those saved minutes across the whole city, and it is actually a huge improvement in congestion, without even considering that in the air there is a traffic lane every 500 vertical feet. Considering most helicopters like to fly between 300 and 3000 ft, that right there is 5 different traffic systems... so just dividing the existing traffic to 5 levels you can already see how much space there is just over the top of existing roads.

The one part of that I can see causing a huge heartache for the gov is that because I never went on a public street (the home owners association pays totally for our culdesac) I can file for no tax on the fuel I used. I'd expect to see a new tax structure on aviation fuels if this becomes a thing.

the submarine/car thing is likely, although of a lot less utility where bodies of water were not close. With the advent of microprocessors, cheap storage, sensors of all types- its certainly possible. Communication between submarines to avoid collisions might be difficult though.

Temlakos: Great idea! Just think how John Galt could drive up talk to the Producer of choice and then disappear with them into thin air!!
You know that the use of this prototype in the TV series (near future part) would be great publicity for the producers of the TFX.