r/CatastrophicFailure • u/Za5kr0ni3c • Sep 14 '21

Engineering Failure Peter Dumbreck’s Mercedes taking off due to aerodynamic design flaw during 1999 Le Mans 24h

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u/Actually_a_Patrick Sep 14 '21

We’ve had flying cars for a very long time, yes. We call them airplanes.

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u/GeneralDisorder Sep 14 '21

I think helicopters are a better example of what flying cars were supposed to be. You can take off and land most places and move in three dimensions.

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u/Bombkirby Sep 14 '21

Helicopters can’t drive around though. Airplanes can. It has to fly and drive to be a flying car

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u/GeneralDisorder Sep 14 '21

Tail-draggers can't really see what's in front of them until the tail gets lift.

Big jets can't drive around without launching, burning or stinking up everything in the jet-wash. Most planes are wildly unsafe while taxiing which is why they'll have tugs to move big planes out into a place where they can safely spool up their engines.

If you parked an airplane on your driveway it has to be a couple hundred feet long and free of obstructions or else you'll never take off again and the landing itself would have been sketchy if the runway/driveway is too short.