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TAXIING WITHOUT A RUNWAY

Uber planning to unleash flying taxis which can take off vertically

Controversial cab app wants to usher in a future where passengers can quite literally fly around the shops

Soon, you might not have to worry about your Uber driver fighting through traffic.

Uber is hoping to develop flying cars to ferry passengers around, and the company has hired a NASA engineer to help it make that dream a reality, according to a report it has just released.

 An illustration from Uber's report on the future of urban air transportation
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An illustration from Uber's report on the future of urban air transportation

The ridesharing app company hired Mark Moore, who is a chief technologist at the Langley Research Center in Virginia and specializes in conceptual designs for advanced aeronautic aircraft,

Uber thinks it can have Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) vehicles that travel up to 200 mph while hovering about 250 feet off the ground up and running in some markets within three years.

Best of all, they should be nice and quiet so you won't wake the neighbours up if you book an Uber for an early morning fly round the shops.

“VTOL aircraft will make use of electric propulsion so they have zero operational emissions and will likely be quiet enough to operate in cities without disturbing the neighbors,” Uber wrote.

“At flying altitude, noise from advanced electric vehicles will be barely audible."


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