The flexible tire idea is from a Michelin tire called a Tweel, which I wrote about in 2005. In the referenced article, I compared it to the smartwheels from Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel Snowcrash.
I like the idea of turning them sideways and using them as a turbine for lift. It's a slightly less radical (but possibly workable) version of Doc's idea for a flying car from Back to the Future.
(There aren't any roads in Back to the Future)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/7/2019)
Orb Nomad Zero-Emission Electric Aircraft
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair or to perch on a flagpole in imitation of a giant bird, even in the windy city of Chicago.' RH Romans, 1929.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
Tactile Skin Supplier Map
'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!'
Orb Nomad Zero-Emission Electric Aircraft
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair or to perch on a flagpole in imitation of a giant bird, even in the windy city of Chicago.'
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'