Originally Posted by
Bend alot
It will not use the current system, and they will not use helicopters (can people get this - they will not use helicopters! so stop the comparison) -
I get that you REALLY, REALLY don't like the obvious and valid comparison to helicopters, and you DESPERATELY want to make it go away, because it neatly illustrates the idiocy of this boondoggle. But the helicopter comparison will not go away, because it is apropos. The authors of this boondoggle haven't (and aren't) inventing some magic teleportation device whcih makes all the practical aspects of helicopters go away. For all the innovation they are claiming (but not demonstrating) there will still be a lot of the same physical realities of helicopters: They will be vertical TO/landing devices of approximately the same size. They *will* blow all kinds of crap around when taking off and landing (unless uber suddenly invents reaction-less lift, which is a low probability event) They *will* need operations areas which will look suspiciously like heliports, with clearways for approach and departure and security zones around them to keep people a safe distance from the operations and blowing debris. They *will* pose a significant risk to persons over which they are flying at low altitudes, and they *will* be noisy as hell. Perhaps not as noisy as a helicopter, but objectionably noisy, nonetheless, and they *will* be expensive. Orders of magnitude more expensive than an automobile. All of those things are true, and they don't magically go away because you stamp your little foot and INSIST that people stop talking about them.
Originally Posted by
Bend alot
I will give a comparison to the helicopter and the new craft in differences. Telephone in a public phone bow vs mobile/cell phone, one works takes lots of coins but is not very practical - the other is convenient does other stuff and I do not even pay for most of the calls.
Kind of an inane comparison on numerous levels, but I'll address the most obvious and fundamental flaw. The Cell phone was not just a refinement of telephone service. If was a fundamental change in the basic technology of the system. It went from communicating over copper wires strung around the city, to communicating by radio waves. That's a profound technology shift. There is no profound technology shift being proposed here. Yeah, they are planning on electric power instead of internal combustion. That's really about the only real difference in the aircraft. It will still require the same amount of thrust to keep them airborne. They still will fly by displacing air (lots of air) downward at a high rate of speed. They still need to displace about the same amount of air at about the same delta V. They will still require approximately the same amount of power to fly, They will still have approximately the same limitations as far as performance, and they will still be capable of crashing on top of a bunch of pedestrians and killing a significant number with spinning rotors, flying parts, and simply crushing them. The is no technological breakthrough scheduled whcih will make those realities vanish. These devices may be an improvement over helicopters, but in the context of the aspects which limit it's practicality, this is not a revolutionary change from helicopters being proposed.