Category: Flying Cars

French Flyboard Hero Promises Flying Cars by Year end

The French are always quick to jump onto approaching opportunities. From recognizing the opportunity within French cars, to working on the industrial revolution, the French know how to cash resources around them. 

While French cars have bossed the word of automobiles for quite some time now, we might be seeing some flying models soon, if the word of Franky Zapata is to be believed. Zapata, who is a renowned flyboard hero in France, has mentioned that he expects flying cars to be bossing the open spaces above by the end of this year. 

Zapata, who is still fresh from his recent achievement as the first human to flyboard across the English Channel, is ready to move towards the challenge of flying cars. Zapata has no intentions of resting on his laurels and has mentioned that he and his fellow inventors are working on flying cars to make commutes easier and free of hassle. 

Zapata recently flew across the Sangatte in Northern France to St Margaret’s Bay in Dover, England, within just 20 minutes. The achievement is the first of his kind and has positioned Zapata as a renowned name in the flying industry. 

“People dream of flying, we’ve all lived with science fiction movies. We waited until 2015, and Marty Mc Fly’s hoverboard as in the movie Back to the Future. There were none, so we did it,” Zapata said at a press conference. “In 2015, we were also expecting flying cars as in The Fifth Element. There isn’t, well, we’re going to do one!”

The Marseille native spoke to local media station Made In Marseille: “When it is finished, my car will be able to go from Marseille to Montpellier (120km as the crow flies) in one go.”

The flyboard, Zapata has been working on since ages, is also a marvel in its own. However, the only drawback going against is that the board needs refueling after 10 minutes, which is why Zapata had to make a stop on the middle of a ship for refueling purposes. 

Knowing all about refueling challenges, Zapata’s proposed flying car has a bigger and better mileage with Zapata having mentioned himself that the car would be able to fly 120 km without a stop. 

The flying French car Zapata is working on will be able to travel at a fastest speed of 300 km/h and will have a solid chassis mounted on the rear. 

Flying French Cars to be modeled for Paris’s Communication Network

Gone are the days of automobiles on road, as mankind is slowly and steadily entering the phase of flying automobiles. 

European airspace giants Airbus are in contact with Paris’s underground operators RATP to study the viability of flying vehicles within the city. Knowing the rich history France has in this respect, and how well gifted it is in this regard, it only makes sense for flying cars to make their debut on the airspace of Paris. 

Both the firms are believed to be getting together for exploring the feasibility of the urban air mobility services within the French capital. The broader Ile de France region is also under contemplation for the advent of flying cars in the region. 

“Airbus is developing demonstrators of autonomous and unmanned technologies,” mentioned Guillaume Faury, who is the company’s chief executive. 

“This is not science-fiction any more, it is fact. Today we have all the technical tools. But they have to be integrated into everyday life without jeopardizing our priority, which is safety,” he added.

“RATP is a good partner in such a project because of its knowledge of the associated needs and services,” said Faury.

Chief Executive of RATP, Catherine Guillouard was also optimistic about the process. RATP is responsible for managing bus, underground and train services in the city of Paris. While mass transport is the core business for RATP, they are also looking forward to developing newer models of services and transport within the smart city for the future. 

While there have been numerous advancements towards the development of flying cars off late, we haven’t seen anything concrete yet. The model designed by AeroMobil is under production in Slovakia and is yet to be put up on sale. 

“Flying cars are definitely coming within the next two to three years. The regulation is in place and authorities are actively supporting the innovation,” a spokesperson from AeroMobil told AFP.

Levi Tillemann, who is the author of the 2015 book: “The Great Race: the Global Quest for the Car of the Future“, believes that safety is a big challenge when it comes to the car of the future.

“The only thing that really makes the idea of a flying car even remotely viable is a new generation of autonomous driving technologies that will reduce the likelihood of catastrophic failure.”

But Tillemann further added that “from both a cost and energy consumption standpoint, ground-based transit generally makes more sense“.

The VivaTech exhibition in Paris is host to some of the most disruptive and unique technologies within the world of flying cars. There are numerous prototypes on display within the exhibition, as innovators throng the city of Paris to display their models and to look at the disruptions happening here. 

It is believed that more than 20 realistic projects are currently underway to manufacturer flying cars across the globe. Even ride sharing app Uber is looking for flying taxis as an option for commute. 

French cars have long bossed the world of automobiles, and it remains to be seen whether this domination continues with flying cars.