IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2016 - 46

By Kaushik Rajashekara,
Qingchun Wang, and Kouki Matsuse

PHOTO COURTESY OF TERRAFUGIA, INC., WWW.TERRAFUGIA.COM

Flying Cars
LYING CARS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AN INTERest for development and commercialization throughout the history of automobiles
and aircraft. In this article, the history of
flying cars, including some of the ongoing
development work, is described. The technical challenges,
particularly related to lift and propulsion, and the problems
related to wide-scale adoption are presented. With the
advances in engines, electric motors, power converters, and
communications, there is an increasing interest in flying
vehicles and more electrification of these vehicles. This article also examines the challenges and requirements of
developing a hybrid or a pure electric flying car, propulsion

F

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MELE.2015.2509901
Date of publication: 1 March 2016

46

I E E E E l e c t r i f i cati o n M agaz ine / March 2016

Challenges and
propulsion strategies.

strategies for operation like an automobile and airplane,
and vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL).
An ideal flying car will run like any normal car on
the road and fly like an aircraft with VTOL capability at
any location. To date, most demonstrated flying vehicles
do not have this capability; however, several companies
are presently working to achieve this goal. Flying cars
will significantly enhance personal transportation, revolutionize the transportation industry, and improve the
standard of living in many parts of the world. They
could replace helicopters and provide versatile operation with reduced emissions, fuel use, and capital cost.
The flying car is a good solution to prevent traffic jams.
It is also very helpful for the police and military for fast
rescues or rapid action. Flying cars will enable reduced
infrastructure development (i.e., building roads and
2325-5987/16©2016IEEE



http://WWW.TERRAFUGIA.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2016

IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2016 - Cover1
IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2016 - Cover2
IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2016 - 1
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IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2016 - Cover3
IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2016 - Cover4
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