The personal human flight: science fiction becomes reality

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Editor's Note: Gwen Lighter is the founder of the GoFly Award, the billionaire global challenge for the creation of personal flight machines. The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author.

(CNN) - Lost in the contentious rhetoric of Washington lies a bill in Congress that in fact has bipartisan support. The U.S. Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019 is a bill for the investment of US $ 287,000 million in highways, bridges and tunnels, with subsidy programs that provide infrastructure for hybrid, electric and alternative fuel vehicles.

This is an important first step, but it is equivalent to putting a band-aid in a severed artery. The US infrastructure has an urgent need for repairs. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that the US You need to invest about US $ 4.5 billion before 2025 to improve routes, bridges, airports and others in the country. According to TRIP, a national transport research group, 44% of the main US routes. They are in a precarious or mediocre condition.

And the problems of our infrastructure will only continue to worsen with the growing urbanization. A 2018 United Nations report predicted that by 2050, two-thirds of the world's population will live in urban areas. To accommodate this population density, cities will require huge infrastructure changes, in addition to more efficient transportation and less harmful to the environment.

An innovative solution is on the horizon. For the first time in history, we have the ability to create personal artifacts for the human flight. Earlier this month, Franky Zapata piloted his flying board in the English Channel. Of course, this is just an example of the many inventions that are being developed.

From electric planes to self-propelled backpacks, our science fiction dreams are coming true.

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There has been a convergence of innovative technologies in recent years. Now, it is possible to build personal flying vehicles thanks to the advances in propulsion, light materials and sensory and control systems of the drone world. Combined with higher performance of batteries and capacitors that make it possible for electric vehicles to go further than before, along with the advent of 3D printing and other types of rapid prototypes, inventors in the world finally manage to create Flight devices of your childhood dreams.

Several initiatives are struggling to elevate us from land routes to air routes. Kitty Hawk's Cora, a fully electric two-seat air taxi that is currently being tested in New Zealand. Boeing's Passenger Air Vehicle (PAV) became one of the electrical prototypes to achieve autonomous flight in January. Meanwhile, Uber has partnered with multiple companies to test flying taxis in 2020.

READ : Paris plans to have flying taxis in time for the 2024 Olympics

Boeing, Pratt & Whitney and more than 20 aviation associations are also supporting the GoFly award, the multi-million dollar challenge that I created. Zapata participated in Phase 1 of the competition, which attracted more than 840 teams with a total of 3,750 innovators from around the world: all with the sole objective of developing a personal human flying machine.

The GoFly award is advocating the development of vertical take-off and landing vehicles. These vehicles are light, quiet, for a single passenger and take off vertically, that is, they do not need a take-off runway, and often use electric or hybrid engines, so they are energy efficient and ideal for daily trips on the city.

In view of the increase in urbanization and the deterioration of infrastructure, it is necessary to adopt a transport system focused on personal flight. We have the technology and the US Federal Aviation Administration You are already working on regulatory aspects. The final step will be public acceptance. With the GoFly award, and with other personal flight programs that are being tested in the world, the public will soon realize how effective and effective this form of transportation will be.

READ : A flying board monopolized the spotlights during the commemoration of Bastille Day in France

In a speech in September 1962, President John F. Kennedy declared: “We chose to go to the moon… and do other things, not because it is easy to do but because it is difficult, because that objective will serve to organize and measure our best energies and skills…"

We have gone beyond what Kennedy could have imagined when he set his ambitious goal in the space race. Now it is imperative that we reach the next bold goal by making the dream of human flight come true.

(Translation of Mariana Campos)