The Flying iCar Concept vehicle makes us ask that age old question..."If George Jetson has a flying car, why don't I?"
42 years ago we put a man on the moon; Today the Voyager 1 probe is sending us information from outside the solar system. 100 years ago humans lived half as long as they do now. Back then the Model T was just entering production, while today we can buy cars with everything from hybrid drivetrains to air-conditioned seats. Despite all this advancement, there's one question that has been asked continually since this progress started:
"Where's my flying car?"
Control issues aside, the flying car has always been hampered by the wingspan necessary to get a vehicle aloft. The flying cars that have been built all use removable wings which must be bolted on before takeoff and taken off again after landing. It's this inconvenience that has been the major road block in flying car development.
The iCar 101 gets around this problem by taking advantage of the Magnus effect: If an object spins in a fluid it creates a whirlpool effect, creating a line of force perpendicular to the line of motion. This how a curveball is thrown: The pitcher puts a spin on the ball as it's thrown which creates a whirlpool of air, pulling the ball out of its straight trajectory.
The iCar replaces traditional wings with a pair of Flettner rotors, tubes covered in small flaps that generate lift using the Magnus effect. While driving, these rotors fit inside the rear wheel hubs while a pair of electric hub motors drive the front wheels. Power is provided by a turbine engine which generates electricity in this mode. To fly, the rotors slide out of the hubs to be powered directly by the engine. The front electric motors slide out and forward, spinning propellers for forward momentum. After flight, the car can land on a normal roadway and the flying components can fold back into the vehicle.
Unfortunately, the iCar 101 is as real as George Jetson's aerocar. The Flettner rotor was first used to propel ships in the 1920s, but no one has successfully adapted them for use on an airplane. Earlier attempts at drivable planes had a limited market in part because licensing something that is both an automobile and and aircraft is a tremendous headache.
The developers realize this, stating "Hopefully, universities, industrial companies and research centres will take up the challenge and start their own investigation on spinning wings." If we ever do get a flying car, it won't be George Jetson's dome-topped flying saucer, but it may be something very similar to the iCar concept.