Flying car prototypes are being tested right now, but they exist in a strange legal limbo in the United States. The Federal Aviation Administration has strict rules for the altitudes at which aircraft of various sizes as well as drones are allowed to fly at, but a new category of Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft needs a defined airspace before the technology can be rolled out for a mass consumer audience.

Brent Skorup, a specialist in tech and communication policy at the Mercatus Center, joins us to describe his proposed plan for how the FAA ought to regulate VTOL airspace. It combines a market-based auction approach with federal oversight.

What is the immediate market for flying cars? How do flying cars differ from helicopters? What is a VTOL? How do we stop a monopoly from forming in a market for flying cars? Will congestion be an issue? How should libertarians feel about the role taken by a federal agency in this process? The ultimate question is: Who owns the airspace above us now?

Further Reading:

Auctioning Airspace, written by Brent Skorup

Resolved: Cities Should Build for Autonomous Vehicles, written by Brent Skorup

Your Flying Car Will Be Here Sooner Than You Think, written by Brent Skorup

Related Content:

Transportation, Land Use, and Freedom, Free Thoughts Podcast

When Will We Get Fully Autonomous Cars?, Building Tomorrow Podcast

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