Search Results for: Terrafugia Transition

Terrafugia Transition flying car update

We have been following the story of the Terrafugia Transition “flying car” for some time now but recently the Daily Telegraph’s Motoring News section had an update which noted that the flying car will soon go into production thanks to the FAA’s granting of a "light aircraft" designation for the aircraft/car. Normally, a light aircraft can weigh no more than 1,200 pounds but the Terrafugia Transition weighs 1,320 pounds due to the need to have car-related safety features like airbags. Hence, more people will now be able to fly the aircraft.

So far, about 70 people have placed a deposit of $10,000 (£6,650) on the aircraft which will sell for US$194,000 (£129,000) – not a bad price considering its versatility and the fact that it gets a respectable 30 miles per gallon!

A reality check on Terrafugia’s Transition flying car

We have been following the story about Terrafugia’s Transition flying car for some time now and to briefly update progress: On March 23, the first production prototype flew from Plattsburgh International to reach an altitude of 1400-feet and the flight lasted eight minutes plus the Transition itself is now on display at the New York International Auto Show from April 6 to 15 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City as shown in this recent Wall Street Journal video segment:

However, a recent article in Popular Mechanics outlined several reasons why you should not expect to have a flying car in your garage any time soon. Specifically, the article noted:

It will be hard to produce for the advertised price.
Its certification standard will require significant performance restrictions.
The light aircraft market is extraordinarily tough.
Its legal future is cloudy.
Design compromises will take a serious toll on performance.
Roadability’s benefits don’t outweigh its penalties.
Past precedents are not encouraging.

The Popular Mechanics article concluded that while Terrafugia has created is an “admirable execution” of the flying car concept, they are simply still too costly and impractical to be anything more than a novelty for the foreseeable future.

Nevertheless, Terrafugia itself seems very optimistic about the future of its flying car concept.

Terrafugia to design a flying Humvee

On an aviation innovation note, General Aviation News has recently noted that the USA’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched a US$65 million program to develop a four-person flyable and roadable Humvee like vehicle. Moreover, Terrafugia, Inc., the developer of the Transition Roadable Aircraft or so-called “flying car,” will be largest subcontractor on the project.

The vehicle will be known as the Transformer, or TX, and will function like a Humvee on the ground but have helicopter-like mobility. Hence, the TX will have the ability to avoid road threats and difficult terrain while on medical evacuation, remote supply and Special Force insertion missions. The TX will also be able to travel 280 miles either by air or by land and have automatic fight controls to enable operation by non-pilots.

Phase I of the five year program will focus on a conceptual design for both a prototype and a production vehicle while Phases II and III will focus on designing and manufacturing a prototype that could be ready as early as first quarter of 2015. Moreover, Terrafugia will take much of the expertise they learned from designing their flying car and use it on the TX project – which will also help them to transition from a general aviation company to an emerging aerospace company.

Meanwhile, it was also noted that Terrafugia’s “flying car” is moving forward on schedule with testing and production occurring in the second half of 2011.

Video highlights of AirVenture 2013 in Oshkosh

AirVenture 2013 in Oshkosh ended last weekend and despite the lack of current military aircraft participation due to government budget cuts, officials with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) say about half a million people attended this year’s show – roughly the same number of attendees as last year. Official figures also counted 2,115 international visitors registered from 64 nations, with Canada (562 visitors), Australia (257), and South Africa (187) being the top three nations (but these figures only include visitors who registered at the International Visitors Tent).

In addition, more than 10,000 aircraft arrived at the Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh and other airports in east-central Wisconsin and the total showplanes numbered 2,341, including 867 homebuilt aircraft, 858 vintage airplanes, 343 warbirds, 130 ultralights, 92 seaplanes, 27 aerobatic aircraft and 24 miscellaneous showplanes. There were also 821 commercial exhibitors – a record.

If you were not able to attend AirVenture 2013, there are already a couple of great videos highlighting the best of what is arguably the most important general aviation airshow in the world. To begin with, there were plenty of lights, pyrotechnics and smoke to make the night airshow at AirVenture on July 31 a real spectacle as you can see from the following videos:

Another highlight of the show was the flypast of Swiss adventurer Yves Rossy, also known as “Jetman,” in his custom-built jet suit along side of a B-17 bomber:

Finally, the Terrafugia Transition “flying car” also made its first public debut flight:

Next year’s AirVenture promises to be even more exciting because 2014 will include the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I and the 75th anniversary of the jet engine.

More flying cars: Introducing the M400 Skycar

General Aviation News has recently reported that the US’s FAA has accepted Moller International’s application for an Experimental Airworthiness Certification for the M400 Skycar – the last step in the federal regulatory requirements process just prior to an actual flight test.

In case you are not familiar with this flying car idea, the M400 Skycar differs from the more well known Terrafugia Transition flying car concept as its designed to be the world’s first and only feasible personal vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle that is intended to replace the automobile. Moreover and as you can see from the aircraft specs below, the M400 Skycar is designed to be a green aircraft as it will fly on ethanol.

However and as we noted last week, a debut of a Terrafugia Transition flying car prototype will be delayed as they have “encountered a number of the challenges that are common in aircraft development programs, including problems with third party suppliers.”

Hence, I suspect that the M400 Skycar will run into the same types of issues when its time to move into the prototype and production phases. Nevertheless and from the pictures below and on the company website, the M400 Skycar looks like a great alternative idea to being stuck in traffic!

Flying car and flying motorcycle updates

We have been following various news stories about developments involving flying cars and flying motorcycles for some time now with a particular focus on the Terrafugia Transition. Hence, readers may want to check out an exclusive interview done by Jason Scappert for his m0a.com blog of Carl Dietrich, the CEO of Terrafugia Transition. As Carl explained in the interview, you can drive the Terrafugia Transition out of your garage and straight to the nearest airport and in less than a minute, convert the car into an aircraft for takeoff and then land at the airport nearest to your final destination.

In addition and on a separate note, General Aviation has reported that MotoPOD LLC has developed a patent-pending belly pod that will allow pilots to carry a street-legal motorcycle underneath their aircraft. After landing, the motorcycle takes just 90 seconds to remove and then its just a matter of unfolding the handlebars and riding away.

The pods are currently available only for the Vans RV-10 (a 4-place kit airplane) but the company is working towards FAA certification and will soon have products available for the Cirrus SR-22, Cessna 182, Diamond DA-42 and other common general aviation aircraft. The pods are available for around US$8,000 and the company also offers a folding motorcycle conversion for about US$5,500. For more information, simply visit MotorcyclePilot.com.