Flying cars: Alternative to traffic jams, flight delays?

FRIDAY, 22 JULY 2011 00:00 WOLE SHADARE BUSINESS SERVICES - BUSINESS TRAVELS Its a bird! Its a plane! Its a car with wings? A robotic duck? No. In the words of its inventors, it is a road-able aircraft. It is a flying car. And maybe it is com ing to a garage, street, highway, airstrip, or sky near you, writes WOLE SHADARE . IF you have ever dreamed of owning a flying car, then you may well be able to bu y and fly one. Imagine being able to get in your car and soar over the traffic jam on the highw ay, and then touch down at your destination in a fraction of the time it normall y takes to drive. It sounds very inviting and tantalising. Call it a flying car or a road-able aircraft, but either way, its an idea that has been floating aroun d. A flying car retailing for $227,000 could be on roads in a matter of months and customers are already lining up to be the first to get their hands on one, its m aker claims. It is yet to be confirmed if Nigerians are among the thousands of people who hav e made order for the flying machine considering the taste of affluent Nigerians. While the United States and other advanced countries have put systems in place t o ensure its safety, the idea is entirely alien in this part of the continent. For cities like Lagos and Abuja that are becoming congested with traffic, leadin g to loss of hours on the road, the idea looks very much interesting. The poor road infrastructure and planning has been a major source of concern. Th is has consequently resulted into perpetual road works and repairs. Lagos has a higher density of population; hence, there is no sophistication of t he town housing and road planning. In addition, there are many others who share the same road with the car vehicle users. Other factors that have been of key concern are accidents, which often oc cur on roads. For short distant travellers, it can serve as alternative as it tends to serve d ual purposes of flying over huge traffic jams. Buyers will have value for their money. It could help to eliminate constant delays that have become regular feature at t he nations airports, occasioned by scarcity and hike in the price of JET A1. One question that agitates the minds of many is, who regulates the operations of flying cars should Nigerian money-bags decide to go for this equipment? It is simple. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Airs pace Management Agency (NAMA) would need to regulate to prevent congestion and c ollision in the airspace, while the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) is expected to regulate its operation on the ground. The implication is that the operator will have two licences to be able to operat e the machine in Nigeria.