This actually looks like something that might just work, unlike most flying car concepts! Very nice find!

It sounds like quite a bit of trouble having to find airstrips for take-off and landing, finding locations and reserving slots, but this is something that should get easier relatively fast. Assuming that people are free to create their own private airstrips, it wouldn't be too difficult to purchase some land and convert it for this use.

Something that I had to look a bit around for: the capacity. It turns out that there's place for two people: one driver and one passenger in the backseat. I was afraid that this would've been a one-person thing only, severely limiting the possibilities.

If this does get released according to plans (2011), it's SO going to take forever before Transports Canada allows this to enter our market...

Definitely.

It suddenly becomes tempting to get a pilot's license. As far as I know, the process isn't too difficult or costly, and it gives you the opportunity to control a completely different type of vehicles such as this PAL-V. I guess this would also require me to get a motorcycle license, whose yearly rate got quite a bit more expensive in recent times.

Even if this company never releases their product to the market, if the technology is really there, it shouldn't take too long before competitors step up with their own offerings. Between this and Virgin Galactic making (short) space trips a possibility, it looks like we could have a lot of fun in a decade or two!

Unfortunately not. If you check on the company's website, on the road, the PAL-V is considered as a motorcycle by most regulating bodies. As such, you'll need a motorcycle license (which I currently lack). Taking off the ground turns this in a flying vehicle, requiring a pilot's license. This means that your standard car driving rights won't allow you to either drive or fly this!

It flies!

They've successfully begun their first flight tests, and it looks promising! You can get a video of that on the official site.

Bump!

I found a completely different flying car concept this week that got my attention. The article is in French, but the images speak for themselves and the concept video itself is in English.

Having the car being modeled after a drone is a more modern take on the idea, and I think that's a direction worth thinking about since the drone model itself is getting more and more solid and proven. That's not what grabbed me the most, though.

It's the flying car being part of a car sharing system. That is, you don't own this thing, you rent it. I've been subscribed to two car sharing systems for a few years, now. For someone living in or close to a major city, it makes a lot of sense: you might not need a car for your day-to-day life, as public transportation usually takes care of your needs. Cars are more useful for sporadic or unusual trips, or when you need something faster. Owning a flying car would likely be expensive in purchase and maintenance costs, but in a sharing setup? The programs I'm subscribed to take care of that right now, they can centralize the operations to keep costs down, and own fleets of similar vehicles to streamline everything. I think there's a very important point right there that make the prospect more realistic.

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