Thursday, July 08, 2010
(photo: Terrafugia)
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a plane! It’s … a car? It’s the Terrafugia Transition!
The world’s first flying car, or driving plane, depending on how you look at it, may soon be available for purchase, and at a cost of only $194,000.
Massachusetts-based Terrafugia plans to market the Transition to pilots, claiming the vehicle is cheaper than owning both a private plane and an automobile.
With wings that fold (in about a minute), the Transition is designed to fly below 10,000 feet, and has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,430 pounds, including fuel and passengers. When on the road it can get 30 mpg.
So far, the manufacturer has received some necessary clearances from federal regulators, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In June, the FAA granted the Transition a weight exemption to add 110 pounds o the vehicle. Terrafugia hopes to begin selling the Transition at the end of 2011.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Terrafugia Car-Plane Gets More FAA Aproval, Hitting Skies and Roads 2011 (by Aaron Saenz, Singularity Hub)
Car, Plane Both in Transition (by Joan Lowy, Associated Press)
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