Paul GrahamVerified account

Maglev roads and cars.

As with many *next* opportunities, sometimes the barrier is our current understanding of what’s what and how we’ve labelled all of that. Why do flying cars need to look like cars, or planes, other than practical factors such as aerodynamics?

I’d say the more important distinctive feature of a flying “car” is that it needs to be street legal to drive.

The primary feature is that 2 modes of transportation are converged in a flying car. Simplifying its operation and maneuvering would come later. And unless it can operate as a VTOL, it would need to go faster than a car to generate enough lift. Everything else you said's correct.

Or maybe you register your plan with a drone operator that takes you where you need to go ... and make change requests while in the air. (Initially)

Paul, I think you left out a key bit in the definition of a “flying car” — the interoperability of it as both a ground vehicle (capable of interaction with normal ground traffic) and a flying vehicle.