I want my flying car.....

Oh, scratch that....The Government would require GPS & a computer to track my every move while using it.  Guess I'll have to enjoy driving my 1963 Jeep instead....

http://xkcd.com/864/

Three German inventors make a practical one-man flying machine

Innovative and a very cool idea. I have seen the Mythbusters try to create a personal flying machine and here is an example of how inventors can come up with workable solutions.

Small powerful electric motors and a light frame make it work....awesome use of the technology.

One-man flying space hopper could become the 'air car' of the future

80kg machine can take off vertically like a jump jet
Powered by Lithium Ion batteries
Inventor claims the 16-rotor machine will make helicopters 'obsolete
Could be used for 'air sports' - or even as a flying car

By Emma Reynolds - UK Mail
4th November 2011

It might look like as space hopper surrounded by model helicopters, but the 16-rotor E-Volo is an entirely new kind of helicopter - which can hover motionless in the air without input from the pilot

Its bold engineer, Thomas Senkel, took the machine on its first manned flight this week - lasting 1 minute 30 seconds.

It's not the first electric helicopter flight - but this is a new kind of machine, steered simply by joystick, with the pilot sitting above the rotors. Senkel says it could revolutionise transport.

Mr Senkel's eco-friendly contraption has 16 rotors, with each flight lasting about 20 minutes before the batteries need a recharge

The three inventors claim their flying machine could be used for inspecting pipelines, as an air ambulance or for taking aerial photographs - as well as just for fun.

Once they have solved the problem of how to keep it in the air for longer - and support more people - Senkel hopes it might replace helicopters for good.

It's far easier to fly than ordinary helicopters - it's steered by rotor speed, which is computer-controlled, so the pilot just needs to use a joystick as if playing a videogame, rather than controlling multiple complex contorols at once.

Senkel describes the easy-to-use machine as 'good-natured' and potentially capable of replacing the helicopter in many situations.

He added: 'Without any steering input it would just hover there on the spot.'

The multicopter is currently only able to fly for around 20 minutes because it runs on lithium-ion batteries. But E-volo hope rapidly developing technology will mean they can complete hour-long flights in the near future.

A hybrid drive, in which a conventional internal combustion engine generates the electrical power, would already show an hour-long flight time.

A one-hour flight would cost around six euros in electricity. The machine has few parts, which could wear out, meaning the aircraft needs little maintenance.

E-volo say their aircraft is special because of the 'simplicity of its engineered construction without complicated mechanics, and redundant engines.'

In an emergency, it can land even if four of its 16 rotors fail. And since the propellers sit below the pilot, a safety parachute can also be deployed.

The controls could be integrated with GPS software, the three friends claim, and the machine could even automatically avoid obstacles and direct itself to pre-determined locations. E-Volo have already completed several successful 'drone' flights with the vehicle, controlled remotely from the ground.

NEW GADGETS VS.TRIED N' TRUE RELIABILITY / LEMMINGS

I enjoy techie stuff as much as the next person but there is a fine line between enjoying and obsession...

I have witnessed over the last 25 years, this growing obsession people have with obtaining the next greatest " whiz-bang thingee" and then the inevitable updated one that follows it in less than 6 months which makes the first thing look like a paperweight....and for a lot less dough.

DVD is a great format for films and works just fine - BUT NO !! You need Blu-ray....we need you to rebuy all the movies you already own....because Blu-ray is sooooo much better....right....It may be, but my last name isn't "Lemming" and my DVDs are just fine, thank you very much!

I-Phone 4 madness is the latest saga that falls into this category -

There was an article in the UK Independent : "Revealed: What Apple really thinks about its customers - Fury at firm's secret memo to staff over problems with new Phone By Emily Dugan" and it gets into the nitty-gritty of how badly Apple mucked it up, and how stupidly blind the buyers of the latest I-phone really are -

" Angry customers have been told that buying a rubber bumper at a cost of around £25 will cure the problem. This weekend it emerged that Apple staff have been instructed not to provide these bumpers even though the problem stems from a design fault. In a leaked memo, helpline staff for AppleCare have been told: "We ARE NOT appeasing customers with free bumpers – DON'T promise a free bumper to customers."

The memo suggests that customers should avoid covering the lower left hand corner of the phone when they hold it, and reminds staff to tell customers that the phone's wireless performance is "the best we have ever shipped". The news is a further blow to Apple's reputation, which has already been marred by a spate of suicides at the factory in China that produces its products.

The company is already facing lawsuits from at least three customers, relating to antenna problems with its latest model, but Apple's chief executive, Steve Jobs, insists that owners need to "just hold it right".

Excuse me??? Hold it just right??? - Hey, Stevie boy - HOLD THIS !!

When companies start to think that they can just shove products out the door, have people pay mega $$$ for said product and then act indifferent when the product turns out to be faulty by design, we have serious problems here.

The problem is two-sided - 1st is the company for being so slip-shod with the product and soooo eager to send it out to gain profits w/o doing the proper research - 2nd is that people are that addle brained that they line-up and ask for the abuse they get when they shell out mega $$$ for the latest thingee...and it doesn't frippin' work!

I have recently come to the conclusion that too much tech is not good. I like gadgets, don't get me wrong BUT I like things that work and are dependable. Reliability is the key factor in any product I will have around as if I can't depend on it to work, why bother having it in the first place????

Cars are another place where this is becoming an overriding issue....My wife's car recently was having problems and it all came down to computer issues and an imbalance caused by a crack in a manifold.....well that upset the oxygen balance and the computer didn't like that !! So it started changing the way the engine ran and the sensors were all out of balance......and the end product was it took the mechanic almost a month to figure it all out.....at a cost of $600. Computer turns on a warning light??? You just became ineligible to get your sticker unless you have some guy diagnose the car at rate of $100 an hour......whatta racket.....

This is why I have come to the conclusion that I will be making a plan to change my vehicles of choice as time moves forward....I have the 1963 Willys Jeep all but done and have been working on the getting the 1966 VW Beetle rebuild project started....These two vehicles will likely be my main methods of transportation in the near future....The reason why is because they work - dependibly, reliably and under most circumstances, without fail.

They are basic, reliable machines and don't need a computer talking to the O2 sensor, which needs to check with the mainfold sensor, etc. , etc. - They need three things - Air, Fuel & a spark....as long as those three things are present, the Jeep and the VW will run. And they are BOTH exempt from admissions standards based on thier age and grandfather standards.....so EPA and Global Warming idiots, you can kiss my arse too while you are at it.....HA!

And I can also fix said vehicles cheaply and easily....with parts readily available at any autoparts store...

NEW is not always IMPROVED....in this case, I will get more satsifaction and reliability driving a pair of 40+ year old cars than I would ever get out of the newest Whiz bang piece of crappola that is foisted on the public at a high cost and equally high failure rate.....

Nope, I like tried and true.....and it will work just very fine for me.....To the "lemmings" that line up for the newest gadgets, you fools get what you deserve....and at too high a cost.

And as a final note, back when I was a kid, they said by now we would all have whiz-bang stuff like Flying Cars.....what I want to know is, Where is my Flying Car?????? I wanted one for years...likely it would need the computer to tell it how to fly and then it would......aw, forget it.