[Old fart]

Uber Elevate (flying taxis) testing later this year. The taxis will be piloted at first, but eventually self-driving
https://www.uber.com/us/en/elevate/

Hyundai and Uber Team Up
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/06/hyundai-and-uber-team-up-to-debut-new-flying-taxis-at-ces.html

Flying Taxi Design
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/...eveals-design-for-flying-taxi-nexus-ces-vegas

Flying Taxis to be Built by 5 Aerospace Companies
https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/8/17331490/uber-flying-taxi-embraer-pipistrel-karem

Uber Wants to Rule the Skies
https://www.wired.com/story/uber-unveils-flying-taxi/

First Test Site
https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/l...isco/287-7e242ef3-9b59-4d0e-8e56-4a1822a178c8

 

[justin22885]

why did i read the title and immediately picture some muslim on a flying carpet?

 

[Old fart]

why did i read the title and immediately picture some muslim on a flying carpet?

I immediately thought about the tactical, strategic, security, and immigration issues associated with these

 

[ManyFeathers]

Yeah....


What could go wrong...


I see the way people drive, God forbid they take to the air

 

[PurpleKitty]

As a taxi user this scares me.

 

[Big-D]

Yeah....


What could go wrong...


I see the way people drive, God forbid they take to the air

 

[Big_John]

Helicopter service/taxi..... already exists. I suppose they will claim it is more affordable with an electric Hyundai drone... with no pilot to pay or tip.

I bet they already have the press releases drafted for the first in-air collision or drone/ground crash and loss of life. That's certainly built into their insurance policy....

........

 

[InOmaha]

Looks like something only the super rich can use. Designed by billionaire tech people to get from the airport to their corporate headquarters. The electric part is because they want to save the environment.

With a 50-60 mile range it will never pay off as a "regular person" taxi option. Spend how many millions on the plane to get a handful of flights a day out of it. Best case scenario it gets 4 passengers each ride and maybe 40-50 shorter building top hop trips. So at most 200 people a day. One subway train car load. More likely it will be 4 executives going from their corporate headquarters to their private jet at the airport or to their mansion out in the countryside. That's why the literature talked about going from SF to San Jose.

This is a billionaire tool to keep them out of traffic and away from the riff-raff while maintaining better optics than a traditional helicopter.

I bet the tax breaks they get for the program are significant. That's were the real money is in renewable energy and EVs. Offsetting the taxes liabilities from your other operations.

 

[TRyan]

This will be great for the California Liberal politicians, tech CEO's and Hollywood. They can now fly over all the illegals, homeless and filth they've created with their policies.

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[cujet]

Insufficient battery energy density to make it work well

 

[SurvivalOfTheFit]

This will be great for the California Liberal politicians, tech CEO's and Hollywood. They can now fly over all the illegals, homeless and filth they've created with their policies.

 

[neiowa]

Looks like something only the super rich can use. Designed by billionaire tech people to get from the airport to their corporate headquarters. The electric part is because they want to save the environment.
...

Nuclear powered aircraft never happened but if we can only get coal powered airplanes going, for global warmin, it'd be awesome.

 

[lasers]

They call it a taxi but it looks and reads more like a charter helicopter service, maybe with a slightly reduced price. The story also says the intend to build hubs, which to me sounds like a small airport. So calling these a "taxi" is a huge stretch of the language to me.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

Insufficient battery energy density to make it work well

No problem. They can be charged from a common USB cord.

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[ajole]

No problem. They can be charged from a common USB cord.

The model? No way the real thing can carry the current needed.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

The model? No way the real thing can carry the current needed.

The passengers can plug all their phones and laptops into the craft and use them to boost charge.

Obviously I am kidding, but with all the nutty tech out there, surely the designers are hoping for another battery miracle.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

They call it a taxi but it looks and reads more like a charter helicopter service, maybe with a slightly reduced price. The story also says the intend to build hubs, which to me sounds like a small airport. So calling these a "taxi" is a huge stretch of the language to me.

With only four passengers per craft there is no way that service can sustain itself.

It would make more sense for the government to turn over Amtrak to the regional airlines and provide a tax incentive or transportation subsidy to modernize the passenger rail network.

 

[cujet]

A big part of the problem are the near daily reports of battery breakthroughs. Such reports serve only to generate income.

Governments want electric powered vehicles. However, we can only move so many ions. There are finite limits to electrochemical energy storage. Remember, the current must be carried by conductors inside and outside the battery. That adds weight and takes up space, 50% to be exact.

As of today, at least 2.8 BILLION dollars have been spent on better batteries. The result is a bit of a letdown. 20% better specific energy soon. With 40% better specific energy than today, by 2030.

What that means is that a model 3 with a battery pack of today's size will be able to go 300 real world highway miles at 75mph. Good, but hardly great, and nowhere near the distance a normal car could go with an equivalent 1300 pounds of fuel.


EDIT: A scientific rule of thumb is that money follows an idea, but ideas don't materialize regardless of the investment. I hope that the investment turns out awesome batteries. I predict only a refinement of current tech. Remember Theranos.

 

[lasers]

A big part of the problem are the near daily reports of battery breakthroughs. Such reports serve only to generate income.

Governments want electric powered vehicles. However, we can only move so many ions. There are finite limits to electrochemical energy storage. Remember, the current must be carried by conductors inside and outside the battery. That adds weight and takes up space, 50% to be exact.

As of today, at least 2.8 BILLION dollars have been spent on better batteries. The result is a bit of a letdown. 20% better specific energy soon. With 40% better specific energy than today, by 2030.

What that means is that a model 3 with a battery pack of today's size will be able to go 300 real world highway miles at 75mph. Good, but hardly great, and nowhere near the distance a normal car could go with an equivalent 1300 pounds of fuel.


EDIT: A scientific rule of thumb is that money follows an idea, but ideas don't materialize regardless of the investment. I hope that the investment turns out awesome batteries. I predict only a refinement of current tech. Remember Theranos.

They keep making claims of new batteries that at are better and cheaper than what already is on the market and have been making those claims for the last 20 years that I can remember. The funny thing is the good ol' lead acid battery is still the cheapest most dependable battery and it has gone up in price by 3x's in the same 20 years. So far as I know all thees cheaper and better batteries still haven't replaced that 150 year old technology.

Hopefully in the very near future a truly cheap well preforming battery will be developed.

 

[Lagnar]

Insufficient battery energy density to make it work well

It's one thing to push something down the road that's on wheels, and quite another to overcome gravity by hovering in the air for 60-70 miles.

I sure as hell wouldn't ride in one. At least real helicopters can auto-rotate and maybe get you safely to the ground. Not these things.

One thing people are missing about "electric" aircraft. The battery weighs the same whether it's charged or not. As a jet aircraft burns fuel it becomes lighter.