(CNN) -- Ever since the early 1960s when we were glued to the animated sitcom "The Jetsons", whimsical visions of a futuristic space utopia filled our imaginations leaving people asking themselves: "Where's my flying car?"
Point taken, but perhaps now, as our childhood dreams move slowly closer to reality, we should also start pondering this: if a flying car was here today, in the real world and not in the realm of science fiction, would we feel comfortable controlling it safely while cruising thousands of feet up in the air? Would we possess the technical skills required to even get it off the ground, let alone land it without a scratch?
Before you dash to the door and sprint to your nearest pilot school to sign up for flight lessons, take a moment to meet Carl Dietrich, the chief executive and co-founder of aerospace company Terrafugia.Dietrich and his team are working to bring consumers closer to the prospect of a practical flying car, envisioning a vehicle that does not require its operator to be a trained pilot. Thus, Boston -based Terrafugia announced last May it had started working on the concept of TF-X, a four-seat, plug-in hybrid electric car that can do vertical take-offs and landings.
A rendering of the TF-X concept.TERRAFUGIA
Who makes the calls?
Although not driverless, Dietrich says the TF-X could increase the level of so-called "human directed local autonomy," a term he describes as a "big fancy phrase" that essentially means that the vehicle's operator won't need to have the knowledge or skills of a pilot.
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"They don't need to know those things because the computer is plugged in to a data network that automatically helps them plan the flight path, avoid other air traffic and air space restrictions, things of that nature," says Dietrich. He explains that operators would still have to make high-level, critical decisions, like determining whether it's safe to take off and land or approve the landing zone in advance.
"Anything that happens on the ground, the person is going to make a call," says Dietrich. "Once you're flying, the actual operation of all the flight control surfaces is going to be computer controlled because, frankly, the computer can do it better than a pilot."
Yet, if you have the vision that the semi-autonomous vehicle would help you escape annoying traffic jams by simply taking off the ground, you'd better think again.
"That's science fiction and that will always be science fiction," says Dietrich, explaining that vertical liftoffs require a lot of air to be blown down which is not practical and can cause damages to neighboring vehicles. Instead, TF-X would be able to take off in airports and helipads, as well as specially designed spaces -- the size of a tennis court -- that would be devoid of street lights, road signs and power lines.
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