phys.org
Does this mean the future promised by “The Jetsons” in 1962 — one with flying cars — is finally coming to fruition? The city of Paris has announced an “unprecedented” program to launch flying passenger drones — to be used as taxis during the 2024 Summer Olympics. Paris will test electric flying vehicles in the coming months as a part of the program which plans to shuttle fans at 2024 Summer Olympics. Organizers aim to offer “flying taxis” via two air routes during the Games, with the trials already begun at the Pontoise airfield located 16 miles northwest of Paris. Pilot testing is already underway on their large-scale electric drone aircrafts which they hope will be used to shuttle sports fan from one Olympic arena to another. They hope to establish two flight paths for air taxis, to allay traffic in the densely populated city during the international event, which has seen an average of about 6 million ticket holders in recent years. Some 30 aeronautics manufacturers throughout Europe have already been enlisted to conduct test flights at the Pontoise airfield in Cormeilles-en-Vexin, Paris, including Volocopter, Airbus, Vertical Aerospace and Ascendance, Lilium and Joby Aviation, with others expected to join the project. Organizers have tentatively established air routes between the Paris-Issy-les-Moulineaux heliport and the Saint-Cyr airfield, and from the Charles de Gaulle and Le Bourget airports and a to-be-determined landing site somewhere in the confines of Paris. While the aircraft being developed for the 2024 Olympics are meant for air travel only, genuine road-to-sky prototypes have already appeared in recent test flights, such as the Slovakian-engineered Klein Vision AirCar which transforms from a vehicle to a plane in just three minutes. The “roadable aircraft” completed one of its longest test flights this past summer, between Slovakia’s Nitra and Bratislava airports. If everything that the organizers are aiming to do comes to life then it would be like a dream come true. It would be a whole new transition in the world of travel.