But this funky airplane just proved it can take to the sky, and it might be the flying car you've been waiting for.

The jet, which isn't actually a jet, can take off and land vertically like a helicopter and fly like an airplane, making it just the thing for congested cities because it doesn't need a runway. In other words, it's everything you want in a flying car: It picks you up wherever you are, and plunks you down exactly where you want to go.

A full-size prototype of the airplane made its maiden voyage an airfield near Munich earlier this month. It lasted just a few minutes, with no one in either of the two seats, and a pilot controlling it from the ground. But it flew, proving that the unconventional design isn't total malarkey.