sixty years ago, The Jetsons they came to tv to introduce us to a world of futuristic wonders. Robots that do everything for you, houses high in the sky, video calls… and, of course, flying cars. While much of this stuff has become a part of our daily lives thanks to Roomba vacuums, FaceTime, and every other monstrosity built in Dubai, there’s still one slope left.
Therefore, in 1970 the German company, Taylor Aerocar, demonstrated the benefits that an invention of this style could bring to the human day. To do this, they put their Aerocar to the test, a model of a flying car that, with a curious design, allowed you to take off, fly and land without too much difficulty.
It has been the BBC who has dusted off this memory of the past. On his YouTube channel, BBC Archive, they have published the video where we see the Aerocar in action.
“Traffic delay has become the classic metaphor for utter frustration,” the video begins. Anticipating an invention with revolutionary intentions. Shortly after, we see in the video the car taking off, under the astonished gaze of the rest of mortals waiting stuck in city traffic.
More details about the Aerocar flying car
The Aerocar is the closest thing we’ve seen when you mix a helicopter and a car. Although its wheels are smaller than those of a usual car, they work well to park the Aerocar and move it in sections where it cannot move with its huge propellers.
The same 260-horsepower motor, capable of moving helicopter blades, could also be used in car wheels. through a hydraulic transmission system. For this, the BBC explains in the video that the Aerocar could only reach a speed of 70.42 km per hourdue to the risk of damaging the propeller system.
According to information from Wikipedia, the Aerocar could reach an altitude of 3,800 meters, rising 3 meters per second. It was also capable of moving through the open sky at a maximum of 188 km per hour. Not bad for such an early invention.
Driving the Aerocar was a different experience. Instead of using the classic steering wheel, the car used levers. This, coupled with its strange design, made the Aerocar easier to handle in the air than on the ground.
A key point of its design is in its propellers. These could be lined up and secured with a kind of safety ropeto avoid accidents on the road. In addition to this, it had a warning sign indicating to other drivers that your car was not like the rest.
According to the creator company, the Aerocar had been designed to have the functionality of a helicopterbut at half the price. On the other hand, depending on the configuration of your flying car, you could carry from two to five people. Unfortunately, the invention was not successful. Only 6 units of the Aerocar were manufactured, which also ended up being part of museums.