Fit To Fly

Who should, and who should not, fly a flying car?

1. The first qualification should be if someone is already a pilot. Having a current, up-to-date pilot’s license is a definite benefit for anyone wanting to fly a flying car. All the technics and experience will only add to the skill of a flying car pilot.
2. The first disqualification may seem a bit off-topic, but it’s not. As you’ll see. It has to do with visibility. Anyone who partakes of “smokeless vapors” or “vape” should be disqualified. I’m sure every reasonable individual out there will see the reasoning for excluding anyone who would willfully reduce their own circle of visibility by spraying a mist of oil into the immediate vicinity of their face. If you can’t see, you can’t fly.
3. Speaking of visibility, anyone who can drive a car well at night should be given good marks toward flying. Accurate eyesight in general is a benefit, though that doesn’t mean those who require eyesight correction of any kind should be excluded. On the contrary, correction of any kind should be smiled upon.
4. Those who consistently run red lights should not be allowed to fly. Patience will be needed for take-offs and landings in particular, though other instances will crop up, such as traffic delays and mechanical issues. The convenience of much quicker commutes will only increase the impatience of those who are already impatient. Those who run red lights already show a disregard for other people’s lives. If they’re given access to flight, they will endanger those in the air AND those down below.
5. The ability to identify landmarks will be a critical skill for those who fly. Granted, the flying will be lower and closer to the ground than airplanes fly, but it will still be useful to be able to find your way around by sighting down on familiar territory from an unfamiliar angle. Of course, a Global Positioning System is a wonderful asset. GPS should never be the only method for navigation.
6. Another exclusion regarding people’s driving habits should regard the habit of driving with lights on—in the daytime. This shows that the person driving is oblivious to how the machine they’re operating works. This sort of disconnection would be a hazard for those who fly. Anyone who flies should know how their vehicle works, how to repair it, and how to make it work better.
7. A good skill to have will be the knowledge of weather and how different weather patterns affect flight.
8. Age related reaction times will have to be taken into account. This doesn’t only mean the old. The young as well will need to be monitored, even excluded, until their reflexes are good enough for flying. If you’re one of those who can’t dodge an albatross, should you be flying a car over everyone’s head?
9. Knowledge of redundancy and its benefits on a marvel of engineering will be a boon for anyone wanting to fly. Redundancy will be necessary for safety features, so those who can comprehend this will have a better chance.
10. Mental illness restricts people from buying a gun. It should restrict them from operating a flying car also.
11. Anyone who can build their own should be allowed to fly it.
12. If someone builds their own and wants to fly it, but they have one of the disqualification traits above, they should be restricted on where they can fly it.
13. Lack of self-respect should be a consideration against. For instance, anyone with a PhD in Marketing will be a questionable candidate for a pilot. For another instance, anyone who eats at Del Taco, has a dubious amount of self-esteem. This could lead to other problems while flying. (See #10 above.)
14. Those who eat healthy will have an advantage over those who do not.

For more on flying, check out Flying Dream, the new novel.