Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin
Kitty Hawk researching self-flying, fully electric small aircraft in New Zealand (radionz.co.nz)
2 points by Nition on March 13, 2018 | hide | past | favorite | 1 comment


I'm certainly dubious about this - for instance how does a self-flying aircraft obey air traffic control commands, or report its own status to ATC or other pilots? Since you don't need a pilot's licence (their claim), will it handle every type of unforseen weather conditions for you? A plane can't just pull over and stop anywhere. Is a plane with only 100km (~62 mile) range really useful vs. driving or public transport anyway? Battery weight must be a major hurdle to greater range.

But I thought it was an interesting article worth posting anyway. We hear a lot about electric and self-driving ground vehicles, but little about the equivalents in aircraft. And they seem to have a real vertical-takeoff "flying car" prototype which is more than Moller Skycar can say after half a century.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: