lmao Drake.

I think they would probably end up building the gas stations or refueling stations on the ground. I also think it would be illegal to fly over a certain altitude. There would need to be a decent buffer between the lowest altitude for planes and the highest for plaars (i'm calling these flying cars plaars), unreal do you have any suggestions on that?

There would probably be emergency tanks that are required to be full if you get pulled over....err under or soemthing. This way, if you run out of fuel (which you never should anyways) in the air then you can use the emergency fuel to get to a gas station. The reason you should't run out of fuel is because like a spare tire, it isn't something you should run on. Only emergencies.

The plaars would need to go through checks at special regulated stations to make sure they are safe to fly and everything.

Maybe the engines would be built with a fale safe so that they automatically level off at a certain alitutude. That'd be better than just saying "don't fly that high" cause that would just make you want to do it. Another thing they could do if you run out of gas, ejection seats. You don't die, you just lose your car. Fair enough for being stupid enough to run out of fuel in the first place.

That's fine and good in cruise flight, but what about if a plane wants to climb/descend? Transitioning through scores of "plaars" would be horribly dangerous.

Most people believe that flying cars can be a reality because they look up and see nothing but blue skies. Not many planes, right? Believe me, the skies are crowded enough as it is.

Wouldn't planes only be in the Plaar Zone when they are landing or in an emergency? At places like airports and whatnot, there would be a plaarking lot away from the airport, then shuttles or maglevs to the airport. If there is an emergency, a plane needing to land in a field or something but plaars in the way, the pilot doesn't have to worry about the plaars, he should do what they would normally do. The plaar drivers on the other hand would be alerted (ahead of time) by their on-board oh-shit-ographer that a plane is coming and they would get out of the way as they were required to know how to do to get their plaar license.

Drake- the eject thing sounds good at first. Then in the next moment I realize there are more the likely going to be plaars all around you, not to mention the few people that still on the ground (in the future most people live in floating apartments...not really...well maybe). I think better than a parachute (and you didn't say it had to be a parachute, I just assume) would be a hanglider, but there is still the plaar falling and killing things. They could just do like unreal said and do an emergency coast thing. But I still think better than that is an emergency fuel that only gets tapped into when the first is empty. (or low pressure or low amperage or lacking Qierhasfles.)

unreal- the streets are pretty crowded too.

I think, if they just make the laws really strict, the tests really hard, and the plaars well made, then they can start good and end it better. As long as they don't start off with the laws too loose I think it could be very safe. Maybe make the minimum plaar license age 25 or something. Have a lower acceptable blood/alcohol level - nationwide so there is no bullshit with state laws. Have much higher safety standards, there will still be some accidents but if you make these things strong enough they won't just fall out of the sky after an accident. Of course it would be required by law to sink down to the ground and do the trading insurance thing. No weapons, no dangerous chemicals, etc. If they start off tough, no one will bitch and get laws thrown out when they tighten them later.

That stuff makes sense to me, but alot of you guys look at things differently so maybe you see something wrong there that i don't.

Cold Sunn, I don't understand why a hangglider would be better than a parachute. Would you mind expaling that for me? What if, instead of reserve fuel for the main jets, there was a seperate fuel tank for a second set of smaller jets that would only be strong enough to get you a couple feet off the ground and only for about ten, fifteen miles. Then, when you start to run out of gas, you hear/see the warning light, you say "shit," then you get your plaar down close to the ground, the reserve jets kick in and there you are hobbling your stupid ass to the nearest gas station.

You fucking moron... Lets see, your dumbass runs out of gas, you're 300 feet in the air, theres two levels of "space car" traffic, and a school under that, your not refueling your car, in that scinario, just possibly killed 900 people, smooth...

thanks Giz. I'm sure everybody here is an idiot who needs to have everything restated. Take a look at Cold Sunn's post. Sound familiar?

Drake- With a hangglider you don't have to be as far off the ground for it to work. With parachutes, at some heights you might as well just smash yourself with a rock and halfway open your parachute. Also you could maneuver around easier, I think.

Giz- call them "plaars" !!

I've said it once and I'll say it again: this will never become a reality. Flying is not as easy as it looks! Someone who decides to just hop into a "plaar" without a high amount of training is not contributing to convenience, but is a liability.

which is why more rigorous training may be standardized. Never say never. I found out recently that my friend knows how to fly. He rented some plane last weekend and flew it around - and he's actually a medical student. Who's to say that many many people can't undergo similar training to fly their damn "plaar"'s.

Because I've seen it for myself. Too many people can't hack it in flight training. The worst thing, however, is that the majority do make it through training...but are mediocre pilots. Seems to me that it'd be pretty damn dangerous for a bunch of mediocre pilots to be flying in close proximity.

"IF" these "Plaars" were ever implimented, they wouldn't be ran until we had a lot of things, as listed below.

1. Extremely advanced tracking systems and GPS. This would have the vheacle so that it wouldn't have a "manual" function.

2. Sensors that keep you at least 50' away from a car in every direction, including 50' off the ground.

3. Floating lane markers to keep the sensors in line, so that they can measure themselves in the air to which altitude level that they need to be, in case of a ditch or something in the way.

4. Strict laws concerning flight plans and manual controls.

5. Gas sensors that will sense if your vheacle has a 1/4th tank it'll land you in a clear spot on the ground determined by the above markers and not allow you to turn on your vheacle without more fuel, as a safety measre.

yeah, somehow i dont see flying cars by the end of the decade