Ten years ago we might have optimistically thought electric flying taxis were coming soon. Nothing, it seems could be further from the truth despite the urgency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Several reasons are behind why flying electric taxis are taking longer to materialize than we expected.
Practical Reasons Why Flying Electric Taxis Aren’t In the Air
Our dream of no traffic jams, no train delays and no cold platforms is being stymied by available energy storage. We already know one of the reasons is down to battery performance. A gasoline auto can stop at any filling station to top up. However, a flying taxi has a limited choice where to recharge.
Moreover, finding more landing places is not a walk in the park either. While folk understand why flying electric taxis are quiet, they don’t want one landing in their backyard. Aviation authorities are still debating the standards for safety. Once they agree they may want to test the vehicles for years.
How Safe is Safe Enough, When It Comes to Flying Taxis?
Some electric flying taxi manufacturers hope to get their certification as early as 2023. They argue their technology is simpler than jet planes, and they should get approval faster. On the other hand, we still don’t know how their taxis would respond in a sudden storm.
However, air traffic control is still the ‘elephant in the kitchen’ that won’t go away soon. There are good reasons why flying electric taxis can’t go anywhere that suits their passengers. Remember, there is no such thing as a gliding multi-copter. Therefore, their flight paths will need emergency landing spots with first responders available too.
Electric flying taxis are still trying catch up with technology as they have been doing since superman comics began. We hope Uber are right when they say they are closer than we think. But did they check with flight control before they told us that.
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Preview Image: Experimental Steam-Power Helicopter
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