IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2016 - 47

(a)

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Figure 1. The Curtiss Autoplane. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_Autoplane#/media/File:Curtiss_Autoplane_1917.jpg, public domain.)

bridges) and save a number of trees from being cut,
thus helping to improve the environment. They will
enable building fewer airports, thus reducing the number of air-traffic-control problems. A new class of industries related to flying-car components will develop-
electrical, mechanical, electronics; signals, controls,
communications; and many other related disciplines.
There is not much research reported directly related to
flying cars. There has been, however, a lot of independent
research related to ground vehicles and aerial vehicles.
Since the flying car can be considered a car with the ability
of a helicopter, most of the work being done on road and air
vehicles could be applied to flying cars. With the advancement of technologies in the area of power electronics, control, electric motors, signals, and communications, the flying car vehicle industry could soon become a reality. The
technologies related to electric and hybrid vehicles, and
electric and more electric aircraft could be combined to
develop electric/hybrid flying cars that will have higher fuel
efficiency and lower emissions. This article traces a brief
history and presents the challenges of developing flying
cars and the required infrastructure. Some of the ongoing
development work of flying cars and the future strategies
are also presented. In addition, this article discusses the
possible electric and hybrid propulsion architectures considering the ground propulsion, flight, and VTOL.

In 1937, Waldo Waterman, often referred to as the
father of America's flying automobiles, developed the
Arrowbile (Figure 2), which also had a propeller attached
to its rear. The three-wheeled flying car was powered by a
100-hp, six-cylinder automotive engine, and the 38-ft
wings were designed to be detachable for storage. For
ground propulsion, the engine drove the two rear wheels
through chain belts. It had a flight-cruise speed of 125
mi/h, a range of 400 mi, and a ground speed of 70 mi/h.
Designed by Moulton Taylor in 1949, Aerocar
(Figure 3) was the first vehicle that was meant to drive,
fly, and then drive again. It took about 5 min to change
from airplane to car mode. The fiberglass-shell car
cruised at 120 mi/h in the air, its rate of climb at full
load was greater than 550 ft/min, and it had a cruising
range of 300 mi. The designed ground speed was 67
mi/h. It even received U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval. In 1970, Ford Motor Co. considered
marketing the vehicle, but the decade's oil crisis affected those plans. Although six demo units were built, the
Aerocar never entered into production.
Moller International developed the first personal VTOL
vehicle. In 1966, Moller International demonstrated the flying car XM-2 with hovering ability. This was followed in
1968 by a two-passenger XM-3, which used a single fan
powered by eight engines. The XM-3 achieved an altitude of
10 ft and could make a 360° turn. Paul Moller continued to

Past, Present, and Future Flying Cars
The technology and interest in flying cars is as old as airplanes and automobiles. With the rapid advancement and
commercialization of airplanes and automobiles, and with
many technical challenges associated with flying cars, the
interest in flying cars declined. However, many attempts
were made to demonstrate and bring the flying cars to
reality. A few of the early attempts to demonstrate these
vehicles and currently ongoing activities are presented.
Although references to flying cars before 1900 can be
found, Glenn Curtiss was the first to build a flying car in 1917.
Called Autoplane (Figure 1), it had three wings and spanned
40 ft. Autoplane also had a four-bladed propeller at the rear
of the car. It never truly flew but managed a few short hops.

Figure 2. The Arrowbile. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterman_Arrowbile#/media/File:Waterman_Aerobile_in_flight.jpg.)

IEEE Electrific ation Magazine / March 2 0 1 6

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_Autoplane#/media/File:Curtiss_Autoplane_1917.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/waterman_arrow

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