A utopian transport system

[johnfowles]

Anybody stuck recently in a traffic jam will enjoy a peek into a possible future by reading this Daily Telergraph motoring section article:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2004/11/12/emnjet13.xml
it has a hyperlink to a site that has apparently been having bandwidth problems at:-
http://www.avcen.com/index3.php
which has a nice impression of a group of "Jetpods"
http://www.avcen.com/images/jpeg2.jpg


------------------
My Gordon Lightfoot webring
starts at
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/lightfoot

[violet Blue Horse]

Eh, I don't know the dollar equivalent but I'm guessing that £500,000.00 is a whole lot of money, even with the dollar doing a downward spiral. That would be one expensive taxi ride I'm guessing. http://www.corfid.com/ubb/biggrin.gif


quote:Originally posted by johnfowles:

Anybody stuck recently in a traffic jam will enjoy a peek into a possible future by reading this Daily Telergraph motoring section article:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2004/11/12/emnjet13.xml
it has a hyperlink to a site that has apparently been having bandwidth problems at:-
http://www.avcen.com/index3.php
which has a nice impression of a group of "Jetpods"
http://www.avcen.com/images/jpeg2.jpg

[LSH]

very expensive. ESPECIALLY with dollar in a downward spiral. last I heard the Euro was 1.30 against the US dollar. the british pound is also very strong compared to the US dollar. I'm in purchasing at work and import tile and stone.
that jetpod (of which I've become inordinately fond and imagined myself jetting around in) would go for about $930,000. ain't we got fun?

[jj]

cool...but once these get REALLY popular, instead of bumper-to-bumper traffic it will be nose-to-tail traffic???

yeah, rush hour will always stink...

[johnfowles]

quote:Originally posted by violet Blue Horse:
Eh, I don't know the dollar equivalent but I'm guessing that £500,000.00 is a whole



Thanks Violet
I had not noted the cost.
In fact it might be even higher than half a million quid a copy
according to The Register at:-
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/08/flying_taxi/
which on November the 8th said
"So it is with a great deal of scepticism that we point readers in the direction of Avcen, a British (sort-of) flying car
outfit which reckons it will fills the skies above Blighty with its $1m Jetpod by 2010"
It goes on to quote Avcen managing director Mike Dacre who told the BBC:-
"The fact that it can make such swift progress - and therefore so many flights - would slash the fare for the flying commuter.
Dacre claims that a jaunt from Heathrow to London could set you back as little as 40 or 50 quid"
that article also refers to other cheap aircraft plans that have so far failed to materialise like the http://www.moller.com/centerimage/main1-skycar.gif (http://www.moller.com/)
that I remember reading about in Popular Science many moons ago.(click the picture of their "skycar" to go to the Moller web site where there is some
interesting reading.
Including the news that deposits are now being taken for an initial selling price of $1 million decreasing to $500,000
click on the picture on the site to get lots of great detail and links to actual flying videos although first I must install Real
player before I can watch them.
Anyway I must go back to that site which has an intriguing link to "the latest on life extension(organic almond butter)"
yummy I do like almonds!!
However their picture of "freedom motors "
http://www.moller.com/centerimage/main4-rotapower.gif
is just possibly an indication that they have solved the problem of perpetual motion to boot!!

------------------
My Gordon Lightfoot webring
starts at
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/lightfoot




[This message has been edited by johnfowles (edited November 17, 2004).]

[vlmagee]

Adam Aircraft www.adamaircraft.com (http://www.adamaircraft.com) is building two new airplanes that are flying; the inline twin propellor plane, the A500, is close to certification. They aren't conceived as commuter planes "from the countryside to London", but the jet, the A700, is expected to be the first of a new breed of "air taxis". These are for business users primarily, and would be used to go from one city to another, but would be available for hire from air taxi companies, much as a limo is today for a local trip.

I mention Adam only because their planes are already flying, and built using totally modern technology which makes them safe and easy to fly as well as very economical compared to today's equivalent planes. They are built using carbon composite, and include newly designed elements (such as the seats), which are dramatically improved over what exists today. The private planes flying today are built based on technology from the 1970s.

I do the Adam web site, and my husband works for them (the disclaimer), but for those of you who are airplane buffs, I suggest that you take a look at their web site. For some GL content, I can add that Bob Doidge is a big airplane buff (the bathroom at Grant Avenue Studio has a window seat with about 200 magazines, of which 199 are about planes), and he already knew all about the A500.

Again, before you worry about the price, these planes are intended for individuals and businesses that need to travel frequently and require the speed and convenience of a personal aircraft. It is not intended for you or me. Well, not until we win the lottery.

------------------
Valerie Magee

Visit my business site at mageenet.biz (http://mageenet.biz), Hamilton Camp's Offical Web Site at hamiltoncamp.com (http://hamiltoncamp.com) , and Cathy Cowette's web site at cathycowette.com (http://cathycowette.com). Also visit Dr. Jack's Lightfoot page (http://longtailpublishing.com/jackpages/lightfoot.html).

[Cathy]

quote:Originally posted by vlmagee:
Adam Aircraft www.adamaircraft.com (http://www.adamaircraft.com) is building two new airplanes that are flying; the inline twin propellor plane, the A500, is close to certification. They aren't conceived as commuter planes "from the countryside to London", but the jet, the A700, is expected to be the first of a new breed of "air taxis". These are for business users primarily, and would be used to go from one city to another, but would be available for hire from air taxi companies, much as a limo is today for a local trip.

I mention Adam only because their planes are already flying, and built using totally modern technology which makes them safe and easy to fly as well as very economical compared to today's equivalent planes. They are built using carbon composite, and include newly designed elements (such as the seats), which are dramatically improved over what exists today. The private planes flying today are built based on technology from the 1970s.

I do the Adam web site, and my husband works for them (the disclaimer), but for those of you who are airplane buffs, I suggest that you take a look at their web site. For some GL content, I can add that Bob Doidge is a big airplane buff (the bathroom at Grant Avenue Studio has a window seat with about 200 magazines, of which 199 are about planes), and he already knew all about the A500.

Again, before you worry about the price, these planes are intended for individuals and businesses that need to travel frequently and require the speed and convenience of a personal aircraft. It is not intended for you or me. Well, not until we win the lottery.



Ya know, I didn't even notice those plane magazines. All I could think about was, "Oh wow! I'm using the same bathroom that Gord uses when he's here!" http://www.corfid.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Cathy http://www.cathycowette.com

[johnfowles]

quote:Originally posted by Cathy:
"Oh wow! I'm using the same bathroom that Gord uses when he's here!" http://www.corfid.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

No shit!!
which reminds me i have just rediscovered an old (Betamax) video cassette onto which I had copied from the original VHS tape all the scenes with Gord in from the film that was called "Wanted Dead or alive" when I saw and recorded it from BBC television a number of years ago. and my memory was correct.
In the early scene where Harry Tracy and his idiot sidesman dug a hole in front of Morrie's outside loo then wait for him to come out whereupon he fell into it, In my old recording Gord very clearly says "Oh Shit"!! but this has been cut from the version recently issued on DVD. It is some small consolation for the UK version completely omitting the two instances of Gord singing "My Love For You" plus the omission of it in the closing credits
Very strange
John Fowles

[This message has been edited by johnfowles (edited November 18, 2004).]