Here Come The Jetsons!
Do any of you remember “The Jetsons,” that glimpse-into-the-future TV show from the 1960s?
“Meet George Jetson, his boy Elroy, daughter Judy, Jane his wife….”
That was the beginning of that catchy song heard before each cartoon episode. And it wasn’t just a show for kids, as I recall. It was one of those fairly-rare cartoons that adults could also watch and chuckle along with.
But the main thing I remember about it was George’s flying car. Man, how cool would it be to have a car that flies?
Well, now you apparently can. Or, more precisely — maybe soon?
It was recently announced that a prototype flying car had completed the first-ever test flight between two airports — in Slovakia of all places — flying nonstop for 35 minutes.
The news report said the AirCar had already completed over 100 flights — soaring to heights of over 8,000 feet and cruising at more than 100 mph — then turning back into a sports car upon landing in less than 3 minutes.
The AirCar’s inventor, professor Stefan Klein, said the flight marked “a new era of dual transportation vehicles.”
“The AirCar is no longer a proof-of-concept,” Klein said. “It has turned science fiction into a reality.”
No word in the story, however, about how much an AirCar might set you back.
I’m thinking: Probably A LOT.
But the event definitely impressed one observer — the CEO of Hyundai’s European operations — who said he believed flying cars will be a reality in cities around the world before the end of the current decade.
Wow!
Look out George Jetson! The Future has arrived!
Well, maybe…
I mean, there are still a few details yet to be worked out.
Like do you have to have your own landing strip next to your house for takeoffs and landings?
Do you have to file a flight plan to go to the grocery store (assuming the store has a landing zone)?
With untold numbers of flying cars buzzing around the skies, who’s going to make sure they stay in their lanes? And what would lanes look like anyway?
Sounds like a nightmare for Sky Troopers…
It kind of reminds me of jet packs.
Remember jet packs, that strap-on contraption I’ve been wanting ever since seeing 007 fly with one in the 1965 Bond movie Thunderball?
But I recall thinking: OK, even IF such devices were available to the general public, how could they possibly be made “safe” to use if thousands (if not millions) of people were scooting around the stratosphere with them?
The mind boggles.
Yet, here we are with flying cars on the near horizon, according to Hyundai.
I don’t know. Flying cars, driverless vehicles, jet packs, hoverboards, robots, drone package deliveries, moving sidewalks — it all speaks to a future that I’m pretty sure will scare the heck out of me.
But our grandkids?
Probably just another day….
Steve Porter’s writings can be viewed at stevenvporter.com.
