I love these things, I think concepting road to air is a great field that I encourage people to explore.
However, I think people should refrain from making a business out of this. Use research funds to push boundaries! I can't help but look at this page and video and think that they are trying to make money off of it.
Speaking as a pilot, a lot of aircraft are built with crashing in mind. Just look at the 777 crash at SFO recently. Judging this craft simply by the video, I have serious doubts that this craft would keep you very safe in an air emergency. I'd love to see what its glide ratio is.
Another issue with current road->air systems is the need of 2 powerplants: one for the road and one for the air. For road travel, the extra weight is not that big of an issue. However, the weight of the road engine (batteries if it were electric) puts serious limitations on its airworthiness and stability.
However, I think people should refrain from making a business out of this. Use research funds to push boundaries! I can't help but look at this page and video and think that they are trying to make money off of it.
Speaking as a pilot, a lot of aircraft are built with crashing in mind. Just look at the 777 crash at SFO recently. Judging this craft simply by the video, I have serious doubts that this craft would keep you very safe in an air emergency. I'd love to see what its glide ratio is.
Another issue with current road->air systems is the need of 2 powerplants: one for the road and one for the air. For road travel, the extra weight is not that big of an issue. However, the weight of the road engine (batteries if it were electric) puts serious limitations on its airworthiness and stability.