Real flying cars could take to the skies by 2022 - beating the not-real Jetsons by 40 years

Just like robot butlers and personal jetpacks for all, flying cars are a technology we’ve all been promised since we were kids, mainly thanks to the Jetsons.

Well, finally, they could be taking a step closer to the realms of reality thanks to Metro Skyway.

The Israeli company has unveiled new plans for a four-person flying car that it claims could be sky worthy as early as 2022.

Dubbed CityHawk, the flying car will reportedly utilise vertical take off and landing technology thanks to an internal thrust-producing rotor system embedded directly within the fuselage of the vehicle itself.

The company, a subsidiary of Tel Aviv-based Urban Aeronautics, has based the CityHawk on more than a decade of flying car research that resulted in the Cormorant, a flying vehicle designed for military use.

Instead of carrying military equipment, however, the CityHawk will pilot passengers around city set-ups, and be capable of hitting speeds of 115mph and fly for an hour at a time, cruising between buildings and below power lines.

I did it Skyway

It won’t be a vehicle you’ll be able to fly yourself, however, acting instead as a flying taxi, assuming it passes aviation safety standards that is.

Although the vehicle will initially run off jet fuel, Metro Skyway has claimed the car could eventually run off hydrogen, assuming the emissions-friendly fuel can be made safe enough.

“Using hydrogen simply requires crash-proof fuel tanks, but there are quite a few hydrogen-powered road vehicles that are already in use and a number of reasons why it may even be safer than jet fuel,” Janina Frankel-Yoeli, vice president for marketing at Urban Aeronautics, told The Verge.

Metro Skyway isn’t the only company working on flying cars. Earlier this year Uber hired a former NASA engineer in order to pursue its own flying taxi plans.

Latest in Vehicle Tech
BYD Han L
BYD’s latest electric vehicle platform can add 249-miles of range in just five minutes – your move Tesla!
Renault 5 Turbo 3E
Renault unveils its wildest EV to date and it comes with in-wheel motors and a rally-style vertical handbrake for drifting
Mercedes-Benz CLA 2025
I’ve tried the new Mercedes-Benz Superscreen – and its Google Gemini-powered smarts push EV infotainment to the next level
The Toyota FT-Me Concept sitting in a car park
Toyota's self-charging concept EV could help you tackle the daily commute on solar power alone
Nissan EvolvAD Autonomous Drive on the road
I’ve tried Nissan’s latest advanced driverless technology – and it handles 60mph on rural roads better than most humans
Rivian R1T
Big Rivian update delivers hands-off driving to rival Tesla Autopilot – and a new 'Rally' mode
Latest in News
Helly and Mark standing on an artificial hill surrounded by goats in Severance season 2 episode 3
New Apple teaser for Severance season 2 finale suggests we might finally find out what Lumon is doing with those goats, and I don't think it's anything good
Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals' next update will add two new hero skins for Iron Man and Spider-Man mains this week
Lego Pokemon
Pokemon and Lego announce the most electrifying collaboration of all time and I’m going to be first in line
Apple Watch app health
Apple Watch blood pressure monitoring tech revealed in patent
Using Zipped files and folders in Windows 11
Hidden clues suggest Microsoft is moving another part of Windows 11’s Control Panel to the Settings app – and this time it’s mouse options
Core Time 2 and COre 2 Duo watches running Pebble OS
Pebble founder announces two new smartwatches, and they're basically the opposite of an Apple Watch in every way