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by FnuGk 3418 days ago
I still do not understand the difference between a flying car and an air plane.
1 comments

Terrible name, indeed.

Flying car sort of implies:

* can fly and drive on the road.

While there are concepts along those lines (e.g. the Terrafugia Transformation), that's not what this is about.

What distinguishes this new bred of aircraft is:

* VTOL, so not bound to a traditional airport

* simple control ("like a car"), so don't need a pilot. That distinguishes them from a helicopter, which is harder to fly than a fixed wing plane.

* maybe also autonomous flying and collision avoidance, so more like next-gen cars.

I find PEVA (personal electric VTOL aircraft) more descriptive.