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At NASA, the first goal is to transform small airplane travel. Right now, really small airplanes are generally costly, uncomfortable and loud and require months of training and lots of money to operate; that makes flying to work impractical for most people.

Within five years, NASA researchers hope to develop technology for a small airplane that can fly out of regional airports, costs less than $100,000, is as quiet as a motorcycle and as simple to operate as a car.

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Of course this isnt' a flying car, but it has me thinking. In and around Saskatoon, rich folk buy acreages and commute into town. But this technology could rellocate these wealth-villes to even further distances, perhaps revitalizing small towns. The land would be cheaper, rural townships sometimes offer huge tax breaks for new developments, which would be attrative. Also the towns themselves are nice. As long as it had a little airstrip, your Saskatoon doctor or business guy could live 100KM away! And fly to work.

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The ConvAIRCAR was not the first flying car to make it to the drawing board. That honor goes to the Curtiss Autoplane of 1917.

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Someday, an autoplane of some sort will become a reality. One of the driving forces (no pun intended) has to be the enormous costs of roads. A personal vehicle that is not beholden to the highway system will relieve pressures on the ground.

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Originally posted by Mike Keenan:
Problem is, fuel consumption increases dramatically if you have to use some of the fuel to keep you in the air. Energy-wise, I don't think we can afford this sort of thing for the forseeable future.

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Yeah, Mike. I'm sure you are right, although you can subtract the oil that goes into road building. The dream will become a reality when we conquer the energy barrier; or maybe the gravity barrier. I've never been thrilled with the cost of putting an airplane in the air. With apologies to sail planes and ultralites, there's a great deal of force required to make air travel practical.