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FLYING
CAR
We
willingly subject ourselves to the sensible criticisms of our readers as
we contemplate elaborating a 'flying car' project. This is a real
stylistic composition that we are embarking on here:
We must, first of ail, make a choice about our objectives according to the
technical and commercial realities.
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Requirements:
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- a 4-seater vehicle with luggage (77 kg x 4 + at least 40 kg)
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- dimensions suitable for the American road network. In fact, the European
market for this type of
versatile vehicle is practically non-existant
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- it mustn't be wider than a Hummer, nor longer than an American
Limousine, ie. 2,197 meters
wide
and 6 meters long at most
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- high performance at a price in tune with the expectations of potential
clients.
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But
also:
For
reasons of reliability, simplicity and cost, the motorization must not
only have been approved by the American Administration, but must also
prove its qualities besides that of its multiplicity of function. The
fuel must be economical, easily managed and should not necessitate
extreme precaution in its use, as does fuel for certain rockets.
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- The use of propellers or blades, even if they are retractable, does
not meet safety criteria for road use as the slightest roughness would
need to be avoided. Also, the propulsion system would be too complex and
would increase the likelihood of breakdown. The reliability of the
system would have to be maximised from the start.
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- The minimum range must allow a journey from the East Coast to the West
Coast of the United States against a head wind with 45 minutes worth of
fuel left as a safety measure.
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- The productivity of the propulsion and the fittings must be
significant enough to avoid penalising the range or the price per hour
flying or driving.
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-The road holding must be at least equivalent to that of the average
American vehicle, which leaves a lot of room for manoeuvre.
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Our
project, which we will call ãFlying Carä, could take the form of a
twin-engined jet, (a real twin-engined plane, which is capable of flying
level on an engine) to allow optimum integration of a lifting body
airframe. Without VTOL or ADAV capacity, it would maximise the energy
giving productivity by its high but subsonic flight speed possible because
of its jet engines. This would make it possible to attain high performance
levels at a better price. The choice of a swing wing arrowed aerofoil
could be easily integrated into the chassis of the vehicle and appear to
be perfectly compatible with the speeds and the engines.
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The "Flying Car" would be very safe because it would use two
engines and not many complex electrically-controlled systems. Simplicity
is synonymous with reliability, but also with safety. The ãmaximum
securityä objective has motivated the choice of largely tested
configurations and therefore the driver and passengers will not have to
put up with initial problems.
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As regards the wheel-axle unit, it would not
be tricycle but would be four wheels placed on four corners of a diamond.
This particularity would allow, with a few modifications, its aeronautical
use in order to permit the large angles of incidence at takeoff that a
delta wing imposes. This wing makes a horizontal stabilizer unnecessary,
which would have increased size, mass, cost, etc,. . The depth function
would be attributed to the lifts (ailerons which play the role of depth by
mixing the controls as on the Mirage 2000). Thus, the realization of the
"Flying Car" could take the form of the designs opposite.
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It
is obvious that the design of a successful automobile, whether a flying
car or not, requires exceptional human and material resources if one
wants sales to take off The acceleration in innovative techniques and
their application in the field of the automobile sets a rhythm that we
must keep up with so as not to be surpassed by the competition. Our
present knowledge and the technical means available allow those who have
chosen to lead this acceleration to combine the artistic and the
functional in a coherent fashion in an innovative automobile design.
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