[davef77]

I'm not going to bite or bother reading the book, I'll just ask, has anyone seen legions of Roman soldiers, horses or bicycles using the M25 recently?

No but I often feel as though I stuck behind a legion of Roman soldiers and their horses when travelling on the M25. They (the Romans) were certainly faster on some days.

[Lindsayp]

Around here, there are a lot of people who travel around the town either on bicycle, mobility scooter (electric) or Shanks' Pony. Yes a lot of cars, but a lot of local (low paid) work so many can't afford cars (IC) let alone cars (elec) let alone volocopters

[WingsOff]

When a typical medium scale, new design, conventional helicopter costs half a billion or so US dollars to develop and certify, can't see too many of the 100+ eVTOL developments/designs making it to final production when the certification criteria are only just evolving now. Maybe just five of those might get to the end game - with backing from the big boys like Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed etc. and due to those development/certifications costs, the cost per unit will be huge if those non-recurring costs are amortised over a relatively small production run with a long, long return on the investment. In theory the manufacturing costs for say the composite structures, the motors, the batteries, should be much less than a conventional 'corporate' turbine heliciopter today, but you can't escape the hideous up-front investment and all the testing and flight proving etc. eSTOL fixed wing light aircraft for passenger transport (as opposed to leisure flying) will be cheaper than the eVTOL 'drones' to develop but still, certification will be a huge pain in the proverbial.

[Crash one]

I've often wondered how much further down the line we would be if it wasn't for the beaurocratic bullshite getting in the way.

[akg1486]

I think this thread should be automatically revived in 30 years or so. Many of us won't be around by then, but it will be fun for future generations to marvel at some posts for their insight and laugh at some others. We'll know then which is which.

[Gertie]

No but I often feel as though I stuck behind a legion of Roman soldiers and their horses when travelling on the M25. They (the Romans) were certainly faster on some days.

I'm sure I read somewhere that the speed of getting about London has remained steady at around 8mph for a couple of millennia.

There is now, at last, a chance of beating this, as you should be able to manage 12mph on the cycle superhighways.

[Crash one]

I think this thread should be automatically revived in 30 years or so. Many of us won't be around by then, but it will be fun for future generations to marvel at some posts for their insight and laugh at some others. We'll know then which is which.

This stupid wheel idea will never catch on. It will only go downhill or along the flat.
When it goes uphill give me a buzz and I'll buy one!!

[kanga]

Of course graphine was discovered/developed here in the United Kingdom - .. our manufacturing industry with complex trans-national supply chains is in for a rocky post Brexit ride.

graphene by, IIRC, two Russians who were in UK presumably on the sort of visa on which there is now a numbers cap (but one very recently lifted for clinicians, I gather); this approach may or may not contribute to the rockiness of the ride

[.. not trying to provoke a thread drift to a taboo/touchy subject, of course ]