“Mark my words. A combination airplane and motorcar is coming. You may smile, but it will come.”
— Henry Ford 1940
From the founder
At Detroit Flying Cars, we are developing a uniquely more flexible form of transportation. Fly when you want, drive when you have to. Hundreds of miles of uninterrupted travel. And adventure! A more versatile form of personal mobility. Personal because it’s your environment wherever you go. No more planes, trains and automobiles! Start from your home or garage, drive out of your driveway and neighborhood, find the runway for your machine, push a button to stretch your wings, and fly hundreds of miles. If you don’t like the weather, land, push a button to transform this machine into an efficient road worthy electric car, and keep the journey going. A machine that sets us free!
Detroit Flying Cars has been assisted in engineering the first prototype by Emergent Systems, an extraordinary design and engineering company based in Dearborn Michigan. Emergent Systems, with its most creative and inquisitive talent anywhere, has helped give shape and analytical substance to the design. A team of airplane enthusiast have helped keep the building momentum going. And there’s more to be done.
Over the past 3 decades I have had the privilege of working with and for Detroit’s auto companies. Over the past 5 decades I have also had the distinct benefit of working on model airplanes, full size airplanes, and their ultralight, hang glider, experimental, home-built and factory built variants. The problems faced in each of automotive and aviation industry have been complex and challenging. Yet, creative solutions have emerged. Dreams have continued to be transformed through simple working prototypes, to sophisticated products, now embraced by all.
There have also been those kids among us who have wanted to bridge this divide between terrestrial and aerial mobility. Talk to any kids about flying cars, and watch their eyes and imagination light up! The challenges of each industry are complex, combined these challenges appear insurmountable. So what! It hasn’t stopped so many bright, brave, often foolhardy folks to make attempts. And today there are many individuals and organized teams showing enormous promise.
There are indeed many and varied approaches that are being employed to achieve this hybrid form of transportation. So is the approach we at Detroit flying Cars are taking. It begins with package space. We believe that the vehicle must have a practical size and be able to fit comfortably in a typical average American garage. So the footprint and size must be about the same as a typical mid-sized automobile. We also believe the vehicle must meet the performance characteristics and feel of a typical personal airplane in general aviation.
Go the distance. Have similar range between fuel stops that we have all grown accustomed to. From this starting point began the journey a decade ago leading to the design taking shape today in our hangar and workshop. There’s a lot more to come, because endless adventures and destinations await us on open skies and streets.
‘Detroit’ in our moniker reflects our admiration for Henry Ford and the men and women world over that created the transportation revolution. We hope to be worthy participants to bridge the gap between road and air. With Detroit Flying Cars we hope to also bridge the divide between past and future.
