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Here Is a Real Flying "Car" for Once, But There’s a Catch

It’s been years that we’ve been hearing about flying cars and how they’re most definitely in the cards. So far, not much has come out of these promising prospects, with the exception of a handful of prototypes of actual flying cars.
A real flying car, courtesy of a paraglider from Turkey looking for a new challenge 11 photos
Photo: YouTube / SWNS
A real flying car, courtesy of a paraglider from Turkey looking for a new challengeA real flying car, courtesy of a paraglider from Turkey looking for a new challengeA real flying car, courtesy of a paraglider from Turkey looking for a new challengeA real flying car, courtesy of a paraglider from Turkey looking for a new challengeA real flying car, courtesy of a paraglider from Turkey looking for a new challengeA real flying car, courtesy of a paraglider from Turkey looking for a new challengeA real flying car, courtesy of a paraglider from Turkey looking for a new challengeA real flying car, courtesy of a paraglider from Turkey looking for a new challengeA real flying car, courtesy of a paraglider from Turkey looking for a new challengeA real flying car, courtesy of a paraglider from Turkey looking for a new challenge
The flying car of tomorrow isn’t exactly a car that flies but rather an oversize drone that will be able to carry passengers. eVTOLs (electric vertical take off and landing aircraft) are currently the safest bet for urban air mobility, because having a car that can drive on land and fly in the air is too complicated.

With the exception of Klein Vision’s AirCar Prototype 2, which can do both but is still years away from certification, and the Pal-V Liberty, it doesn’t look like we’re any closer to flying cars. We might as well have a laugh at the expense of those dreamers who thought we’d have them by 2020 – and this is just the way to do it.

Here is an actual flying car, in the sense that it’s a car, albeit a very tiny one, that’s been made to fly. In a new viral video, agricultural engineer Fehmi Durmus is taking his friend’s minicar for a ride while paragliding over the Istanbul municipality of Gultepe, in Turkey.

Durmus is also a tandem paraglider, and he tells NewsFlare that the idea for the stunt came from a challenge. Like with many other daredevils, it all started with the “What if?” question. The minicar is one his friend had at his shop on display, but from the looks of it, it could be an electric kiddie car from Volkswagen.

Before anyone gets ideas, Durmus says all safety precautions were taken ahead of and during the flight. “It is important to emphasize that I never violate any safety precautions,” he explains. “I obey strictly the safety rules and I do not put both myself and anyone [sic] in danger while doing anything about paragliding.”

That last part is very important, and one that’s been stressed before, when similar stunts went viral, like the time one paraglider turned himself into a literal couch potato. To do that, he took off with a custom rig that included a sofa with footrest, a TV set, and chips to nibble on, and filmed the entire experience to post online.

So there you have it, a flying (mini)car. The video might not be enough to make up for the disappointment you must have felt at the dawning realization that flying cars remain an impossible dream, but at the very least, it will make you smile.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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