Lost Prototype of The Passarola, 1709

[freebeard]

Y no flying carz?

The Knights Templar & Magnetic Airships (Lost Prototype of The Passarola, 1709)

A Portugal-Brazil conduit for R&D money, Pre-Montgolfier Bros but post-Vimana, vacuum for lift and magnetics for propulsion (sounds like today's tic-tacs).

What's not to like.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Y no flying carz?

A Portugal-Brazil conduit for R&D money, Pre-Montgolfier Bros but post-Vimana, vacuum for lift and magnetics for propulsion (sounds like today's tic-tacs).

What's not to like.

The fact that it couldn't ever work might dim some's enthusiasm.

[freebeard]

Good thing it's in the Unicorn Corral then.

The illustrations from 1709 may be speculative. Today's examples are smooth white spheres. That are used for loitering observation.

Aerogel - The Secret Link

[paniwew]

Flying cars have been "just a few years away" for decades now! The biggest hurdles aren’t just the technology but regulations, infrastructure, and, of course, making sure people don’t crash into each other midair. Still, we’ve got drones, eVTOL prototypes, and autonomous vehicles slowly pushing us in that direction.

[Piotrsko]

Not crashing into each other is easy to solve, and has been pretty much avoided. Landing and IMMEDIATELY being able to use the craft again, is hard. It is also mandatory.