"World's First Flying Car Receives United States Government Approval" Posting by Staff link to story | permalink
June 29, 2010
The United States Federal Aviation Administration has just removed a major hurdle in the path of a the first commercially viable flying car. The FAA has granted the Transition an exemption - allowing it to be classified as a light sport aircraft despite being 120lb over the limit.
The Transition has been under development by startup firm Terrafugia, founded by flying-enthusiast MIT engineers, since 2006. It is basically a normal light single-engined plane with folding wings and a more substantial, four-wheeled undercarriage.
With wings folded a Transition can be driven on roads at normal highway speeds. On reaching an airport - or a suitable bit of private land, with the owner's permission - it can extend the wings and make a normal rolling takeoff to cruise the skies at 115mph.
On landing, the usual hassles with finding hangar or tiedown space and getting a cab or hire car onward to one's destination don't apply. The Transition simply drives out of the aerodrome gate and parks wherever it's going - fitting in a standard size garage if one is available.
If bad weather should close in before the return journey - a constant worry for private pilots who don't possess instrument ratings - no matter. The Transition can simply drive home.
Handily, the plane-car was originally designed to fit within a weight limit of 1320 lb, meaning that it could qualify as a "light sport" aircraft. A US light sport pilot's licence is significantly easier and cheaper to get than a normal private ticket, requiring only 20 hours logged, and red tape is lessened.
Light sport aircraft licences require just 20 hours' flying time, making them much easier to obtain than full private licences.
The two-seater Transition can use its front-wheel drive on roads at ordinary highway speeds, with wings folded, at a respectable 30 miles per gallon. Once it has arrived at a suitable take-off spot - an airport, or adequately sized piece of flat private land - it can fold down the wings, engage its rear-facing propellor, and take off. The folding wings are electrically powered.
Its cruising speed in the air is 115mph, it has a range of 460 miles, and it can carry 450lb. It requires a 1,700-foot (one-third of a mile) runway to take off and can fit in a standard garage.
Terrafugia boasts a safety cage, crumple zones, airbags, a number of in-built pre-flight safety measures, and the possibility of a full-vehicle parachute.
SPECIFICATIONS
* Manufacturer: Terrafugia
* Type: Light Sport Aircraft
* Class: MotorcycleLight-Sport Airplane (LSA)
* Propulsion system: 100 hp Rotax 912 S (four-stroke)
* Top Speed: air, 100 kts, road 51 mph
* Zero-to-60: NA
* MPG: 30mpg (air as well as road)
* Vehicle range: air, 400 nautical miles (460 miles); road, 80 miles
* Fuel(s): Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)
* Tailpipe emissions: Yes, but minimal
* Estimated Price: $194,000
"This extra weight gives us more flexibility," says Terrafugia vice-president for product development Richard Gersh, "allowing us to play around with the payload and add or swap out components."
Boosting the weight allowance should help the Transition to meet US highway safety standards, he continues without which it cannot be marketed as a roadable vehicle. There is no timetable for a decision, but Terrafugia is hoping to secure approval this year.
Terrafugia says that one of the major advantages of the Transition over ordinary light aircraft is safety - in the event of inclement weather, it can simply drive home instead of either being grounded or flying in unsafe conditions.
The company says that 70 people have ordered the car, leaving a $10,000 (£6,650) deposit each. The car is expected to retail at $194,000 (£129,000). Deposits are held in escrow, meaning that should the company go bankrupt before delivery, the money will be refunded.
June 29, 2010
