Back to the Future? (What Happened to the Idea and Why I Wish We Had Them)

The 1985 sci-fi adventure film Back to the Future directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Michal J. Fox. It told the story of Marty McFly who accidentally time-traveled from 1985 to 1955 through a Delorean sports car. He met his future parents there who were both in high school and he must make sure that his parents-to-be would fall in love. The twist came when he accidentally attracts his mother’s would-be husband compelling McFly to travel back again to the future set in 1985.

The film was the top-grosser for that year and earned several awards and nominations elevating it to be one of the greatest films for its genre. It also aroused the interest of many individuals to the idea of flying cars wishing that it would become a reality.

27 years after, the idea of flying cars seemed to be still confined within the scripts and effects of futuristic films. Could it be that flying cars are still far from being seen roaming in the atmosphere? Could the future be very far when flying cars would take us where we want to?

On a personal standpoint, flying cars would seem to be beneficial to mankind considering that land traffic is becoming huge everyday due to the volume of vehicles raging the roads. Many of us are wishing for the realization of flying cars due to the promise of convenience it could bring. It can take us faster to our destinations and would generally require a different kind of fuel- one that could be environment-friendly and more cost efficient than the ones used on land vehicles.

With flying cars, getting to other countries, even to those that are separated by seas would be a lot easier. One would not wait to be booked on airplanes just to visit other countries.

However, these conveniences are still dreams that may take many more Back to the Future films before being perfected. While there are efforts to make real flying cars since 1917, these were mere prototypes of aircrafts that look like cars. The latest effort was that of MIT engineers and MBAs with their Terrafugia Transition conceptualized in 2006. Only time will tell if this one would ever take off and grace the friendly skies. Until then, it might be possible to see a remake of Back to the Future – this time with Daniel Radcliffe as Marty McFly.