2013, where is hell my flying car?

Honda Air conceptualized by advanced design studio in Pasadena, California
For decades pop culture has been telling us that flying cars were supposed to be all the rage of the 21st Century. Movies, TV shows and even cartoons have been fixated on the notion of flying cars.

This morning, watching a solid line of cars on the highway really got me wondering, “Where’s my flying car?” If you think back to the Jetsons, they had a flying, collapsible car. Now while a car folding itself into a briefcase is something beyond the realms of logic and science, the concept of a flying car really seems overdue.

Honda Air conceptualized by advanced design studio in Pasadena, California

 A 400,000 lb plane can fly so why can’t your 4,000 lb car? Weighing in at, on average, 100 times less than a plane, it stands to reason that making a car fly should be an easy feat. So why isn’t it possible? If scientists can develop a rocket that can go to the moon why are you stuck behind Mrs. Smith and her 2.5 screaming kids? It just isn’t fair!

Modern science is capable, so why haven’t we taken off yet? For starters, developmental costs would be astronomical! Cost aside, there’s a more immediate roadblock – who would be making this flying car? Unfortunately, the interest is more on funding a space mission than it is on designing a flying car. Which do you think is more important, being able to zoom to work in the open skies or a trip to Mars?
  The Planet Mars where scientists have focused their attention in recent years.

There’s hope for the flying car and it may be happening sooner than you think!  Well the laws of mechanics and engineering would make it impossible for the cars we now drive to become airborne without some major structural and design overhauls. Fortunately, there are two companies which have risen to the challenge and are ready to tackle this issue.

First up is Terrafugia which makes a street legal mini plane called the Transition with collapsible wings (Hey Jetsons) and it has already taken flight. Apart from it being one of the least attractive “cars” on the road since the Pontiac Aztec, the $279,000 price tag may throw a wrench in your propeller.

Flight Test for the Terrafugia Transitio