https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66252187?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
Small electric aircraft will be carrying passengers soon in Europe soon, but will they catch on?
I am sorry but what do they promise?
A transport option that cannot scale, will only be for the wealthy?
The people who are the target market for this already have access to helicopters.
Also:
Wouldn't a subway or train be 100 times more cost effective and safe? In a connected city asky taxi alleviates 1 car from traffic, a subway alleviates thousands. Not to mention the extreme danger of helicopters and tall buildings. Helicopters are easily affected by upa and downdrafts, and large buildings in cities typically create these conditions. Seems very dangerous to put a bunch of these out, even experienced helicopter pilots need practice with a new machine. On top of that what about air traffic control and landing? Do I have to schedule my rides in advance to avoid mid air collision? Will buildings have to be reinforced for landing pads?
Helicopter taxis exist today, but almost nobody uses them because they are too expensive. These don't solve the expense issue, I see no reason these will change anything notable
Range of 22 miles
Ah, so even worse at its basic function than helicopter taxis we have today. The chopper has to fly from it's base, to you, to your destination, then back to it's base using a total of 22 miles? And let's not forget you need to keep a few of those miles in reserve. Worthless as a taxi.
Hit the nail right on the head. This is just a company trying to rebrand helicopters. And bad helicopters at that. They are banking on naive people who think this is actually a novel and viable technology. It will at the very best be another toy for the super wealthy to send the kids to Disney.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Volocopter expects to get the European aerospace regulator, EASA, to clear its machine, the VoloCity to carry passengers in the next few months, so they can be ready for the Olympics.
He says that more powerful, cheaper batteries will emerge, allowing Volocopter to build a bigger aircraft that will be able to offer services at lower prices.
Lilium says there is potentially a huge market for such an aircraft which can offer connections around congested cities, or services where rail links are poor.
He points to a deal announced in June under which Shenzhen Eastern General Aviation (Heli-Eastern), plans to buy 100 Lilium aircraft.
Heli-Eastern runs air links in the Greater Bay region of China, which includes Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Macao.
He also makes the point that the new firms will have to get much bigger: "It is crucial for the industry to scale-up to avoid adopting a model limited to business travellers or financially privileged individuals."
I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Flying personal cars like "Back to the Future" style will never be a thing, sorry to burst everyone's bubble.
Or rather, they might be a thing, but not for you and me.
What problem do they solve, and is that problem still solved if 50% of people are using this new method of transportation?
You are very optimistic with that 50%.
The problem they solve is rich people having to share the road with the common folk.