Image via Pivotal Aero
Authorities at the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority are taking steps to bring flying cars to the airport by 2028. Long have people fantasized about flying cars taking over the air, at least since the 1950s, but they still haven’t become popular modes of transportation.
Flying car concept allows you to “jump” over traffic jams.
The plan calls for the construction of a “vertiport” or a landing pad flying cars use to take off and land. As the first step, authorities are seeking out partners to help with the construction. That’s in part because there’s no money to build such a thing, so business partners in the private sector could shoulder the cost for their benefit, reports The Orlando Sentinel.
It seems the idea is that accommodating flying cars at the airport will be a boon for tech companies working on the systems used in the vehicles, of which there are a number in the Orlando area.
Unlike flying car concepts of the past, many modern designs are not only all-electric, they take off and land vertically like a drone. In fact, some have multiple rotors like modern drones, allowing them to maneuver more precisely.
The vertiport not only would allow the cars to take off and land safely, it would have a way for the cars to then access public roads.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is enthusiastic about the possibilities, saying he doesn’t want to stop at a vertiport at the airport. He wants to add another in downtown and one in Tampa. The hope is that will bring more jobs to manufacture flying cars in the area.
There are many factors limiting the use and popularity of flying cars. One is the sheer cost of them, which can rival some supercars. Another is the fact you have to be licensed to fly one, which many people aren’t and have no interest in pursuing that.
Still, the race to build a vertiport is on in Orlando as well as a handful of other cities.
Image via Pivotal Aero
