Flying Cars are the new Ubers

When I was younger, I remember watching the Jetsons and thinking how wild it was that the characters could call each other through the TV and drive flying cars. What's even crazier is that I never imagined being able to see these innovations in our lifetime, but somehow we've rapidly adapted technology to match our Sci Fi shows and movies. Our current generations have literally watched the progression of video calls develop from FaceTime to Zoom, to the point where video calling became pervasive around the world. And now, new eVTOL, or flying car manufacturers are popping up each month.

While eVOTLs are not exactly "flying cars" like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, they are being advertised as so because they are smaller aircraft meant to taxi passengers over short distances. Unlike helicopter rideshares, which carry private passengers across town for a high cost, eVTOLs are meant to be a more affordable and sustainable method of short distance transportation, traversing up to 30 miles. Imagine taking a flying bus to work every morning instead of having to drive through hours of greuling traffic.

eVTOLs have been designed with multiple propellers, similar to helicopters, but are shaped with the fuselage and wings of an aircraft. The propellers allow the eVTOLs to take off like a helicopter, and the wings allow for gliding and lift. Since these planes are battery powered, they are considered more sustainable than traditional aircraft, which operate on jet fuel and emit CO2, polluting the air with contrails. Once the initiatives are successful, eVTOLs will become the new normal for transportation, and will significantly reduce carbon emissions from gas vehicles.

Currently, most eVTOL companies are still in R&D phases, where they are designing their first prototypes, or they are performing test runs of the first iterations of the planes. Since this is a new form of aircraft with novel use cases, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is developing procedures and restrictions for flying and landing eVTOLs in densely populated areas. There are talks of deployment within the next couple of years, with several companies, such as Archer Aviation planning to utilize their aircraft during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to transport fans and athletes. This is exciting news because LA is expected to become extremely congested during the Olympics, as if it isn't crowded enough as is, and the city infrastructure is not designed with accomodating or efficient public transportation.

It is incredible to think that aircraft are a modern invention, and a commonplace form of transportation. Every time I sit on an airplane I am baffled by the fact that this vehicle can fly up to 40,000 feet in the air and travel halfway around the world without refueling. It still feels like magic that planes can fly. The impact that they have had on society the past hundred years is unquantifiable. So much culture and commerce has been exchanged over the years, immigration numbers have increased, and the global supply chain has completely evolved. Aircraft have completely changed how the world operates, with an average 100,000 planes lining our skies each day. And these numbers are only increasing as the global GDP goes up, in order to meet the demand for long distance transport of goods and people.

Spacecraft are also becoming more accessible for civilians, as companies like Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic have been offering very expensive launches to "Space Tourists" to visit the Kármán line, the border between Earth and Space. As eVTOLs make daily flights more affordable and practical, eventually flights to Space will also become a regular occurrence that do not require you to be a celebrity or muti-millionare to purchase a ticket. NASA funding is pushing towards lunar infrastructure in the next few years to build hotels and other fixtures on the Moon. Lunar vacations may be the next stage of recreational Space tourism.

As flight regulations are solidified in the next few years and mass production brings costs down, we might actually be living the life of the Jetsons, and it may be sooner than we realize. Would you consider flying an eVTOL or maybe even a Spacecraft one day? Who knows, it may be your only option for transportation by then.