So far only a happy few enjoy the possibility to take off and land close to their house, as on the picture above, close to Chicago. But the developments evolve at a quick pace, here some of the latest:
- http://onemandrone.com Maybe the nicest project, with the best mix of latest technology to reduce workload for the pilot thus making travel through the air more comfortable, efficient and safer.
- https://flyer.aero
- https://cora.aero
- The flying bathtub
- The volocopter
- Electric jet
These are all aircraft that can take off and land vertically (VTOL). Is this what our airspace will look like in the near future? At every street corner one can take-off, new build houses will have a roof-top entrance with landing spot. Bertha Benz made her first cross-country tour in 1888 and all these roads that have been paved ever since will soon be redundant for personal transportation. Enjoy here a very interesting video on how our future cities can look like.
Although not VTOL but still worth mentioning: https://www.pal-v.com The first certified flying car. Also in this field there are numerous projects running and sure enough we will hear more from this in the nearby future.
Of course safety is an essential element and also in this field there is still a lot to develop. Nobody wants to fall out of the skies but here too steps have been made: http://www.flarm.com/index_en.html So the aircraft should be reliable not to break down and on the other hand, there should be some ‘safe area’ around it in order to avoid collision.