New Car Terrafugia

[Sylvi]

Saturday, 03 July 2010

Terrafugia flying car cleared for take-off

1 July 2010 | By Siobhan Wagner

It’s not quite George Jetson’s flying car, but a new roadworthy vehicle capable of deploying wings and taking off down the airport runway will bring to mind the familiar cartoon jingle.

Meet the ‘Transition,’ a new light sport aircraft developed by MIT aeronautical engineers at US based Terrafugia.

The Transition was intended to be designed as a ‘light sport’ aircraft, the smallest kind of private aeroplane under FAA classification, which means it cannot exceed a maximum weight of 1,320lb (about 600kg).

Richard Gersh, vice president of business development for Terrafugia, said this proved to be a challenge because the Transition had to not only meet aircraft standards but it also needed to include US vehicle safety features like airbags, crumple zones and a roll cage, which added to the weight.

Cramming all these features into such a light weight limit seemed a bit of sisyphean task for Terrafugia’s engineers until the FAA, somewhat unexpectedly, gave the Transition an exemption for an additional 110 lbs (50kg).

‘Now with the additional weight it not only gives us the additional flexibility but also will likely increase our payload,’ he said.

With its wing folded up, the two-seater Transition can travel at highway speeds on any road using its front-wheel drive. The vehicle achieves a 4x4 comparable 30 miles per gallon and runs on high-test automotive unleaded petrol. Once it has arrived at the airport and enters onto the tarmac, it can fold down its electrically powered wings, engage its rear-facing propellor and take off down the runway.

Gersh couldn’t be drawn when pressed on the propulsion and finer details of the flight control to drive control conversion because of outstanding patents.

According to specs on the Terrafugia web site, the Transition has a 115mph cruising speed in the air, a range of 460 miles and it can carry 450lb (204kg). It needs approximately a 518m runway to take off and it can fit inside a standard garage.

Gersh said the primary target market for the Transition, which can be pre-ordered for about $194,000 (£129,000), will be existing pilots who ‘may or may not have their own plane and realise the added capabilities a roadable aircraft would give them’.

‘It’s lower cost because they can keep the vehicle at their home,’ he said. ‘They can transit to and from both their destination airport and arrival airport.

‘The value proposition is that should the weather turn adverse you now have an alternative that virtually no other general aviation pilot has and that is you can land the plane at the closest airport and drive under the weather.’

Gersh noted the car might also be popular with those who have always longed to fly. A light sport aircraft licence requires only 20 hours’ flying time, which is much less than what is required to fly larger aeroplanes.

The obvious ‘wow factor’ of a flying car, he said, will also mean consumers who would buy high-end aeroplanes and cars might be clamouring to get behind the wheel of a Transition. Gersh confirmed the company has already taken 70 orders for the car.

While the Transition is being readied to meet American vehicle and aircraft standards, a spokesman from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority said such a flying car could be approved for use in the UK if it met the EU requirement for aircraft design set by the European Aviation Safety Agency based in Cologne.

However the popularity for such a car might be limited in the UK, he said, because it lacks the thousands of airports and great distances in the US. He also added that he didn’t see the Transition bringing forward a Jetsons-like flying car vision of the future. ‘If you think of the M25 in the air, how is it going to work?’ he said.

Gersh agreed: he in no way saw the Transition in any way resembling George Jetson’s ride.

‘The distinction between the Jetsons and this is you can’t take off at the airport and have it fold up into your briefcase,’ he said. ’This is an aeroplane. It’s not meant to replace your car but if you have an aeroplane it could replace it because of the added functionality. You don’t need a hanger, you don’t need a rental car and you are bringing your ground transportation with you.

‘If you want to bring it to whatever the UK equivalent of Home Depot is,’ which for British readers is B&Q, ‘that is probably not a good choice because it is a $200,000 vehicle.’

This was from the Web.

Wijesinghe.

[Devinda_Z]

Interesting info Sylvi

[Sylvi]

Interesting info Sylvi

Mr. Devinda,

Thank you.

Wijesinghe.