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From: Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: OT: I was promised flying cars! Fulfilled.
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2025 22:35:12 -0400
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On 3/17/2025 2:04 PM, Jay Morris wrote:
> On 3/17/2025 9:27 AM, Cryptoengineer wrote:
>> On 3/17/2025 1:00 AM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
>>> On 3/16/2025 1:09 PM, Cryptoengineer wrote:
>>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmbNZ8ZAcwU
>>>>
>>>> Blackfly ultralight. $190k
>>>
>>> Looks usable as long as you don't run out of electric juice.
>>>
>>> Lynn
>>>
>>
>> Yup. The range is too short for many applications.
>>
>> pt
> 
> The two that have FAA Airworthiness Certification, Doroni Aerospace and 
> Alef Aeronautics, the range is about 100 miles at around 90 mph.  When I 
> was working this would have worked for me. I figure about a 20 minute 
> flight verses an hour on the road.  There and back and charge overnight. 
> But these are $300k+.
> 
> Kicker is that the Alef actually looks like a car and is road-worthy. 
> Well, car shaped. Doroni is drone-like.
> 
> https://alef.aero/

I don't know about the others, but one feature of the Blackfly is that
a computer intermediates all the controls - the pilot/passenger merely
tells it where he/she wants to go.

I recently upgraded my Tesla[1] to "Full Self-Driving (supervised)",
which lets it choose and execute its own routes. I simply hold down a
button on the steering wheel while saying "Navigate to Yamato Japanese
restaurant.", as I did a few hours ago.

Sometimes it will pick routes I never would have thought of.
Sometimes its better than I would have picked, sometimes not.

[1] Another recent upgrade is a bumper sticker reading
"I bought this before Elon went crazy."

pt