flying car

Flight of Fancy: FAA Approves Flying Car

Filed under: Gadgets, Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings

The Terrafugia, a flying car developed by a group of MIT graduates, passed a key regulatory hurdle this month when the FAA agreed it could be certified in the Light Sports Aircraft category.

The concept of a flying car has long caught the attention of wealthy commuters, pilots and engineers. Think about it. Every time a hedge fund manager finds himself stuck on the Washington DC Beltway or Long Island Expressway, the thought crosses the mind: "What if my car was like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?" or "We can put a man on the moon, so why can't I have a jet-pack to keep from wasting all this time?"

The first model, the Transition, is expected to be in full production next year. In the air, it will have a cruising speed of about 115 miles an hour, a range greater than 400 miles, and a 10,000-foot ceiling. On land, it will get about 30 miles to the gallon.

The Transition has been engineered to pass Federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration safety regulations to make it street legal, though it still has to pass those tests and be certified.

Would-be flyers of the contraption will need 20 hours of flying time.

Taking off and landing the Transition will require access to municipal airports. Though one would no longer need to pay for parking a car or renting a car once arriving.

Tags: Flying Car, Terrafugia

Continue reading “Flight of Fancy: FAA Approves Flying Car”

Flying Car Gets Closer To Production

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

When it comes to flying cars, it looks like the Transition from Terrafugia might be one of the ones most likely to actually be available to consumers soon. We've been following this story for a couple of years along with some other projects but the engineers behind this one have persevered where others have failed.. In 2006 some graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology began working on the Transition Personal Air Vehicle. The two-seater craft can go from being a plane to a car in less than 30 seconds. The wings can be quickly folded and stowed for road use. In the sky it can cruise up to 450 miles at over 115 mph.

Aero-News Network reports that the Terrafugia Transition prototype has had completed the first phase of its four-stage test program, logging in 28 flights. The second prototype will take into account all modifications deemed necessary after the first phase. Terrafugia is still planning first delivery for 2011 and the projected purchase price is $194,000. Check out an Aero-News video of the Terrrafugia Transition after the jump.

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Tags: flying car, FlyingCar, terrafugia, terrafugia transition, TerrafugiaTransition

Continue reading “Flying Car Gets Closer To Production”

Flying Car Has First Flight

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings

One of the many flying car prototypes has had its first flight. We've been following the story of Terrafugia since 2006 when the company first started taking reservations for the flying car known as the Transition.

Now Terrafugia has announced its successful first flight at Plattsburgh International Airport in Plattsburgh, New York. The Transition is a two-seat aircraft with a propeller which can take off and land at local airports and can drive on any road. Terrafugia says the plane can turn back into a car in under 30 seconds. It can cruise up to 450 miles at over 115 miles per hour. And although it looks like it is more plane than car it can fit into a standard garage and is powered by unleaded gas from a regular gas station. The driver of the Transitiion will require a Sport Pilot license.

Up next for the Transition is increased flight and drive testing and a pre-production prototype will be built and certified before first delivery. Terrafugia has been taking reservations since 2006 when it had a projected price of $148,000. Back then it had a projected ready date of 2009 but that date has now been pushed to 2011.

[via Aero-News Network]

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Tags: flying car, FlyingCar, terrafugia

The Milner Motors Air Car

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings

Oh yay, another flying car story, they are always so pretty but they never can fly. The Milner Motors AirCar will debut at the New York International Auto Show, March 21-30. The Milner Motors AirCar is a four-seat advanced-composite car that is designed so that you can fly to your destination but then fold up the wings and drive it down the highway. There is a foldable main wing in the rear of the vehicle and a lifting projection in the front. It will weight around 3,000 pounds and will reportedly cruise at 200 m.p.h It has a 28-foot wingspan and on the ground the wings fold to seven feet wide. The plane is powered by two rotary engines and a separate 40 horsepower engine powers the car. The prototype they will be displaying at the car show doesn't fly, it's just meant to show that flight is possible. The flying cars are expected to cost $450,000.

[via Aero-News Network]

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Tags: aircar, flying car, milner, new york auto show

Reserve Your Own Flying Car

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings

When we first heard about Terrafugia, the company developing one of the first flying cars that would also be able to drive on the roads, there was not yet a fully-functional, working prototype, but it is being built. The Transition drives like a car and can lower its 27-ft retractable wings when lift-off is required. It has a top speed of 130mph in the air, and gets about 30mpg whether flying or running on the road. Though the final designs are debuting this week, the cars will not be available to the public until 2009. You can put down a 5% deposit on the projected price of $148,000 right now to reserve one, though the final price is not guaranteed as of yet.

[via SciFi Tech]

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Tags: airplaines, car, cars, flying car, personal aircraft, plane, Terrafugia, Terrafugia transition, the transition

Terrafugia Plans The Next Flying Car

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings

Yet another flying car is entering the rapidly crowded race. This one comes from graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The company Terrafugia is working on the Transition Personal Air Vehicle. The Transition is an SUV which has retractable wings and is designed for 100- to 500-mile trips. It runs on premium unleaded gas and the plan is that it can be piloted with a light sport aircraft license (it cruises at up to 12,000 sq. ft.). There isn't a full prototype yet but one is expected in 2008 or earlier with the goal of being ready for flight by 2009 or 2010.

[via Plane News]

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Tags: flying car, innovation, MIT, terrafugia