by Kevin Coupe
Only in Orlando.
The central Florida city, home to the likes of Disney World, EPCOT and Universal Studios, said yesterday that it plans to build a 56,000 square foot transportation hub for flying cars.
The hub is being built in partnership with Lilium, a German aviation company.
According to a New York Times story, "The so-called vertiport is scheduled to be completed in 2025 and will enable passengers to bypass Florida’s notoriously congested highways, the city and the hub’s developers contend.
"The electric-powered aircraft will be capable of taking off vertically from the ground-based hub and reaching a top speed of 186 miles per hour."
Now, the Times points out that there are a couple of problems with this vertiport.
One is that Lilium's flying car technology is still being developed. It is entirely possible that the vertiport could be ready before the cars are.
Another is that the use of flying cars has to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which may be a little concerned about flying cars careening around Orlando airspace at 186 freakin' miles per hour.
I'd suggest that there are a couple of other issues that I'd be thinking about. Like, who or what will license the individuals piloting these flying cars.
And, where the hell are they going to park?
All that said, I think we've learned that sometimes these sorts of innovations happen faster than we expect. There was a lot of skepticism about drones just a few years ago, and now they've become almost a fact of daily life.
So maybe, indeed. we'll see flying cars in the skies over Orlando, and it'll be an Eye-Opener.
Hopefully, just not at 186 freakin' miles per hour.
