The new flying "cars" are simple drones. And I don't see this as a viable project for the future.

I just saw a news story whose title was "Renault Unveils Flying Car For Travel On Sky Highways" and this reminded me of a comment I made in a post titled "Japan Grants Safety Certificate To Flying Car" written by @doitvoluntarily.

My comment on the post was this.

If you have ever flown a drone in your life or been close to one that flies, you know the noise that the propellers make. And I'm talking about a small drone. Can you imagine having 1000 of these huge drones flying over your head all day? This is one more thing to entertain us in things that will never be reality ... at least with the technology that currently exists. And I'm just talking about the noise not to mention other things that are worse.

The video I was talking about was one that @doitvoluntarily showed in his post. The video is this.

@doitvoluntarily answered me.

it is already a reality with successful flights demonstrated, just needs to become further commercialized

My response to this was.

Do you hear the sound from the motors in the video? Do it again and after read what I wrote. Drones exist since some years now but this tech is not the best for "flying cars".

And also to fly this thing is not like driving an automatic car. Maybe the word "cars" make people to think that it is the same but it is not.

Btw, this on the video will only fly, can not go in the streets like a car, no wheels on it. So this is more a "personal drone" that a "flying car".

@doitvoluntarily's response to this was.

this isn't the only version out there and obv it matters how high they will be flying, sooner or later i think we will see them become more prevalent in the market it is just a matter of time.. as with crypto :) i dont see a prob with flying cars, and there were prob similar complaints from those who were against airplanes at first.

To which I replied.

Yes because everybody can and is aloud to fly an airplane like we drive cars atm, right. I forgot this part.

Look, to dream is ok but we have more serious and realistic problems before arriving to the "flying cars" part (who are really not cars at all but drones, whatever model you can name here is the same, a drone) ...

And there the conversation ended. But today, seeing this news about Renault's flying car, I immediately remembered this exchange of comments. But first I want to show Renault's advertising video about its flying car.

The AIR4, as the company calls it, is definitely a drone with a car-shaped shell on top of it, but this does not make it a flying "car." If just having the shape makes it a car then ...

this is a real Millenium Falcon ...

... and this is a real Speeder Bike.

If someone asked me what I would call a flying car, I would say that it should at least start from this idea 😁.

These flying "cars" that are appearing now cannot even ride the streets like normal cars. It is one of the reasons why I say that they are more a drone than a car. If the animal barks like a dog, moves like a dog and looks like a dog ... don't fool yourself into calling it a lion, it is a dog.

The point that seems to me the most important for which I do not see a future for these flying cars is the issue of noise. Of course, the promotional video of the Renault AIR4 is completely full of music. This is not only done for aesthetic reasons but also to avoid having to put the sound of the propellers of this flying "car". That sound can be heard in the first video.

As I said in one of my comments to @doitvoluntarily, watch the video in his post again with the sound as loud as possible and imagine a thousand of these flying "cars" above your heads all day. And I say a thousand to put a number, supposedly the idea of ​​this is that there will be many many more.

If you have flown a drone you know what I am talking about. Even the smallest drones produce a noise that after a while is quite annoying, it is inevitable.

@doitvoluntarily in one part compares my criticisms of this technology with the criticisms that could have been made to the airplanes in their early days. The truth is that before airplanes there was nothing remotely similar. Maybe the hot airships or zeppelins but they weren't airplanes. In this case, these are car-shaped drones.

And knowing firsthand the amount of regulations that exist to fly a simple drone, I cannot even imagine the regulations that will be made for a drone where you can sit and fly. It is like having your own personal helicopter. How many people do you know who have a personal helicopter or are licensed to fly it? I know one, and the reason is because he was a military man. Only one. And you?

I think the best thing would be to put some of the questions that come to my head when I read / talk about this topic.

• How will the issue of the "driving" license of flying cars be dealt with?
• Will everyone be able to ask for it, as is done with the license that is needed to drive cars?
• How will the "traffic" signs be placed in the sky?
• Will a whole new infrastructure have to be created, apart from the existing one for air flights, specifically for flying cars?
• How will the issue of accidents be dealt with? Remember that it is not only that you collide with another drone / plane / helicopter, there is also the issue that one or more engines fail (it happens in drones) and you fall on people or buildings.
• Will a special police be needed for this new means of transport?
• Will you have to warn and be continuously connected to a radio every time you fly from one place to another as it happens with all the air vehicles that currently exist?
• Will you be able to go where you want or will there be forbidden areas as with normal drones? Areas such as natural parks and places like that are prohibited for drones, for example.

I have more but I think you can already see the idea of ​​what I am talking about.

For me, and as I said in one of my comments, this is more of the same. Things to entertain us of the real problems that we are currently facing, some new problems and others that come from some(many) years ago.

I speak of problems that we all know and that if they were fixed, they would surely leave space to create the necessary technology to make a true flying car and many other things that can make the future of all humanity much better.

Something that is more like this.

And to stay away from these others as much as possible.