“FLYING CAR” ONE STEP CLOSER TO REALITY June 30, 2010
The Transition and Chase Plane during May 2009 Testing. CLICK TO ENLARGE
The Transition® uses high-octane unleaded automobile gas. CLICK TO ENLARGE
(NATIONAL) -- It may not be long before you can fly your own small plane into a nearby airport, fold up the wings and drive your plane/car home on the highway.
The Terrafugia “Transition”®, a small airplane that can drive on roads and has been billed as the first "flying car," is now a step closer to becoming street- and sky-legal.
The vehicle has cleared a Federal Aviation Administration regulatory hurdle for craft classification by weight.
This clears the way for a full-fledged production prototype.
The Massachusetts based company Terrafugia wanted the plane/car to be classified as a "Light Sport Aircraft" by the FAA so buyers who wanted to fly it would need only 20 hours of flying time.
However the two-seater hybrid weighed in 110 pounds overweight in accommodating roadworthy-assuring safety items such as crumple zones.
The FAA said that so long as customers are advised about this extra weight, the car-plane hybrid can be sold.
The Terrafugia completed its maiden voyage last March in New York.
According to the manufacturer the Terrafugia can transform from a road worthy auto that can attain a highway speed of 65 mph to a winged aircraft in just 30 seconds.
The plane version can cruise at about 115 mph and cover about 400 miles before needing to refuel on standard unleaded gasoline.
The price of a Terrafugia is expected to be around $200,000.
Deliveries could start next year, assuming the vehicle passes crash tests.
The company sees its target market buyer as amateur pilots who live near air fields.
More info on the flying car here: http://www.terrafugia.com/index.html
