Sir Stephen Hillier, chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, said the travel industry is at an “inflection point” and needs global co-operation ahead of the “widespread” adoption of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) designed to carry passengers on short trips.
His comments come after UK airspace struggled to cope with conventional passenger jets during a summer of delays compounded by the failure of the country’s air traffic control system over the August bank holiday, which grounded hundreds of aircraft and delayed thousands of passengers.
flying_wotsit@feddit.uk 1 year ago
VTOLs are nothing but rich people’s toys. They’ll never take off (ha!) among the public. Good public transport will always be cheaper and less wasteful.
mackwinston@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Not only that, but they will make an ungodly racket while doing so. Multi propellers all turning at a slightly different RPM, with all the annoying beat frequencies this will create. They will also likely be almost as expensive as helicopters (only a very small amount of a helicopter’s cost is its fuel, the overwhelming majority is maintenance and insurance).
tony@lemmy.hoyle.me.uk 1 year ago
I’ve seen the standard of driving. I really don’t want anyone less qualified than a pilot over my head.
tal@kbin.social 1 year ago
A computer?