this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2023
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[–] deranger@sh.itjust.works 118 points 1 year ago (2 children)

can we just please get some normal, boring, safe, efficient trains that actually function instead of this gizmo bullshit?

[–] popekingjoe@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago

Right? I'd love some decent trainage in the US.

[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

But when I inevitably win the lottery and become a billionaire overnight I won't want to share a filthy train car with other people, I'll want flying taxis that charge $100 a kilometer.

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[–] bender@insaneutopia.com 70 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

Joby’s production aircraft is designed to transport a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 miles (321.87 kilometers) per hour, with a maximum range of 100 miles (160.93 kilometers). I

Back in my day we called these contraptions “helicopters”

[–] Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social 24 points 1 year ago (25 children)

And those were considered for use as "flying taxis" and they failed for the same reason these will: Flying and landing in cities is dangerous, which is why airports are built very far away.

[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 20 points 1 year ago (6 children)

It's also expensive as fuck.

Even if you have electric flying helicopters, the rotary component makes them very expensive to maintain as blades and components need to be replaced sometimes every 500 hours or less and require constant safety checks and inspections.

Imagine how many taxi cabs have a malfunction of some sort every year. Now imagine that taxi cab crashing into a building or crowded street if it had a malfunction instead of just cruising to a halt on the side of the road.

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[–] just_another_person@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

Get outta here with all your common sense making, hater.

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[–] Addition@sh.itjust.works 56 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I'll never understand the eternal hype around "flying cars". Fuckers out here can hardly drive on a 2d road. Now you want to introduce a third axis on them?

I guarantee that if the general public gets their hands on a real "flying car", it'll take about 2 weeks before some drunk idiot commits a mini 9/11.

[–] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The only way flying cars should ever get implemented is if they are 100% automatic.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)
  • Create automatic taxi (impossible)

  • Create flying taxi (impossible)

Okay, new plan!

  • Create automatic flying taxi (should be possible in the next 5-15 years)
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[–] ieightpi@lemmy.world 51 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Trains and Trams please and thank you

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

No. Only the promise of a single-person direct-to-destination fee-for-service that ends up being a giant scam.

We will never build mass transit in this country. You can't make us.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Where America is going to come unstuck is with the electric car.

Either you guys are going to have to build up more electrical infrastructure which you don't want to do, or you're going to have to develop public transit options, would you also don't seem to want to do.

Then the GOP will somehow try and turn it into a political issue (because they are lunatics) and nothing will get done, and then no one will be able to go anywhere because they will be stuck living in a country that is designed for a mode of transit that no longer exists, and no one has bothered to update it in any way. And then your kids are going to overthrow the government because they won't be able to understand why everyone in Europe can go wherever they want.

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[–] ieightpi@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You forgot your /s

[–] CookieJarObserver@sh.itjust.works 43 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Fuck that just built trams and trains

[–] MaxVoltage@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

there are literally rails behind my house why is there not a tram on it to go across town idk. Cargobonly passes once every hour lmao

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Jesus fuck. It's just like some auto execs to pull shit like this. Completely fuck up transportation infrastructure on the ground to your own benefit and everyone else's detriment, then use your winnings to build taxis that can fly over the carnage you've wrought. We are living the Cyberpunk future.

[–] Prandom_returns@lemm.ee 35 points 1 year ago

Fucking waste of resources.

[–] CADmonkey@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

We already have "flying cars". They're called helicopters, and you need training and a license to fly them. Just like you'll need for this thing and just like you need for a normal road-going car.

[–] rekabis@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Ohio is also the state which has the highest per-capita production of astronauts, with only New York and California producing more in terms of raw numbers.

I wonder, what is it about Ohio that encourages people to flee the planet with such zeal?

[–] Astroturfed@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Ya, it's almost like once you've seen Ohio you have this urge to get off the ground. The planet even, if possible. You no longer want to touch anything else attached to Ohio.

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[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 10 points 1 year ago

So, we're just gonna burn more fuel. Wtf. We need legislative change to prevent shit like this.

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 9 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Around the world, electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL aircraft are entering the mainstream, though questions remain about noise levels and charging demands.

Still, developers say the planes are nearing the day when they will provide a wide-scale alternative to shuttle individual people or small groups from rooftops and parking garages to their destinations, while avoiding the congested thoroughfares below.

Joby’s decision to locate its first scaled manufacturing facility at a 140-acre (57-hectar) site at Dayton International Airport delivers on two decades of groundwork laid by the state’s leaders, Republican Lt. Gov.

Its financial package wasn’t the largest, but the chance to bring the operation to the birthplace of aviation — with a workforce experienced in the field — sealed the deal, he said.

Bevirt said operations and hiring will begin immediately from existing buildings near the development site, contingent upon clearing the standard legal and regulatory hurdles.

Toyota, a long-term investor, worked with Joby in 2019 to design and to successfully launch its pilot production line in Marina, California.


The original article contains 862 words, the summary contains 171 words. Saved 80%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

I'm hoping regulations get in the way of this. The FAA is barely comfy letting people fly a drone beyond line of sight with a waiver, fully automated flight for untrained passengers is going to take some doing.

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