Jetsons update

See http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/04/08/ap_083104.asp

From the cover page blurb:
"As Gridlock Grows, Scientists Look at Adding Lanes in the Sky
-- Engineers at NASA, Boeing, are working to realize the longtime
dream of a flying car—but admit we're still decades from a
Jetson-like world."

from the article:
"The problem is, those ideas have generally required both a lot of
money and the skills of a trained pilot. And melding cars and planes
hasn't always been very successful.

"When you try to combine them you get the worst of both worlds: a very
heavy, slow, expensive vehicle that's hard to use," said Mark Moore,
who heads the personal air vehicle division of the vehicle systems
program at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

The goal isn't just to create a neat gizmo: These vehicles will become
more appealing -- and necessary -- as highways and airport hubs grow
more clogged, and commutes more distant."

/dps

"dave schneider" wrote in message
om...

The goal isn't just to create a neat gizmo: These vehicles will become
more appealing -- and necessary -- as highways and airport hubs grow
more clogged, and commutes more distant."

when I was a kid one of the guys in my neighborhood was the helicopter pilot
for a TV station. He had a pasture where he would park his chopper every
night.

How's that for a nice commute?

--
Terrell Miller


" A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures."
-- Daniel Webster