Terrafugia a Company based in Massachusetts,U.S.A. founded
by ( Former NASA Engineers ) graduates of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology four years ago,have designed the
World’s first Flying Car-Terrafugia Transition.Mr.Richard
Gersh,The Vice President of Terrafugia said,”They will be
conducting the 1st Test Flight somewhere by the middle of
February 2009.Last month the company took the prototype
of the vehicle which has been dubbed “The Transition for
its initial flight to an airport in Upstate New York.”
Mr. Richard said,we are very excited and energized,this is
a dream come true to actually have it fly.This is a light
sports aircraft category, two seater vehicle having a
anticipated price tag of US $ 194,000/-.Mr.Richard said,
That the company has so far received more than 40 orders
for the Transition,he expects the customer to receive its 1st
order by next year in 2010.”At the Lawrence Muncipal
Airport the vehicle has been undergoing on-road & taxi
Testing under its own power for the last several months.
Then the transition was transported to Upstate,New York
Were it had to undergo high speed taxi testing,it means
that it was driven at a higher speed by its own propeller.
A test pilot has been lined up for the initial flight of
Terrafugia Transition.Anna Dietrich The Chief Operating
Officer of Terrafugia in a previous interview said,”As
people think of it,We are not going to have a flying car,
for a while”I am not going to say that its not going to
happen,but today we do not have the training,the
infrastructure nor the avionics that would make the
training unnecessary.What makes sense right is the
roadable aircraft.What fired up there imaginations &
pushed them to found a company was the idea of such
a vehicle.Anna Dietrich said,”The problem we face to
make roadable planes a viable alternative yet is that the
United States does not have the kind of infrastructure in
place for such projects.”You will find roads in front of
office buildings,grocery stores& houses and a sky filled
people who do not have there pilot’s license could be a
problem.If you want to fly the Terrafugia Transition,you
have to be a pilot.To have an autopilot built in,we really
don’t have that kind of a technology were people can just
get in it and say,”Please fly me to the Supermarket,hence
the airport is the only place were the Transition is designed
to be flown by the pilot in the infrastructure that exist.She
said ,”In the United States there about 6000 public airports
and most of the people live within 20 miles of the closest
airport.”My advice to the people would be to take advantage
of the unutilized infrastructure,instead of waiting for a taxi
to drive you out to a remote place or getting a rental car.A
pilot can fly into a small airport,then he can fold up the
wings on the aircraft and just drive off.Dietrich said,”One
of there biggest engineering challenges was that to make
sure the wings stayed erect and firm when you are on a
flight,as the wings that fold on an aircraft may not make
the passenger feel safe in the sky.”She said,”We have tackled
the issue first.If you want to activate the mechanism that
folds or deploys the wings,then you have to be on ground.
There are various number of interlocks in place some are
mechanical and some electrical.”
You can now enjoy your flying experience with considerable
change in quality of your personal land & air travel made
possible by Terrafugia Transition,the roadable aircraft. For
complete detailed information on product,performance,
convenience,safety,dimensions & training please visit the
website: http://www.terrafugia.com/ the expected purchase price of
Terrafugia Transition roadable aircraft is US$ 194,000/- and
Delivery is expected in 2010.
