The best way to avoid roadside bombs in Iraq or Afghanistan is to fly over them. With that in mind, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is looking for a four-person flying car.
DARPA is widely credited for developing the first Internet site on which scientists discussed research. You can read the proposal online. DARPA has budgeted $54 million to make it happen.
The company closest to having a flying car (or roadable vehicle, in DARPA parlance), although not one with four seats that can take off vertically like DARPA wants, is Terrafugia located in Woburn, Mass. A company official said she has seen the request for proposals but is not commenting on it yet. The company is busy designing a second prototype after successfully flying the first one in a straight line above a runway.
There have been efforts to develop an efficient and workable flying car since 15 years after the Wright brothers first flew. A huge stumbling block has been the weight of the vehicle. It must be strong enough to meet federal highway crash standards, yet light enough to fly efficiently.
