gripit
23-06-2009, 05:37 PM
Here come the Jetsons!...
Flying car coming sooner than you think
Updated Sat. Jun. 20 2009 7:10 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
The man behind the Terrafugia Transition, dubbed "The Flying Car," says you could see his vehicle on the road and in the skies as early as 2011.
The two-seater vehicle completed its first flight last March and just recently completed 27 additional flights, wrapping up the first of a four stage process to bring the Transition into production.
"It's been very successful," Carl Dietrich, co-founder and CEO of Terrafugia, told CTV's Canada AM in a recent interview.
"We've got a very good handling vehicle and our test pilot said that the flights were just remarkably unremarkable -- it just flies like a really nice, little airplane."
The tests were held to demonstrate how the vehicle can drive, fly, and automatically transform between the two.
Dietrich said the vehicle targets pilots who currently face a number of obstacles that prevent them from flying on a more regular basis.
"Weather sensitivity is a huge one," he said.
"This vehicle allows a pilot to at any time, if the weather changes, to divert to the nearest airport, fold up their wings and drive safely under the weather."
After landing, transforming from plane to car takes the pilot less than 30 seconds.
Dietrich said a second barrier is the expense of owning an aircraft.
"With the wings folded up, the vehicle actually fits inside a single car garage," Dietrich said.
He said that equates to large savings for pilots because they don't have to spend money storing the vehicle in a hangar.
In the air, the Transition can cruise up to 725 kilometres at more than 100 kts (185 km/h).
It has front wheel drive on the road and a propeller for flight. Both modes are powered by unleaded gasoline.
The vehicle is expected to cost around $200,000 and Dietrich said he already has 60 deposits of $10,000.
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/1801/flyingcar.jpg (http://img32.imageshack.us/i/flyingcar.jpg/)
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090619/flying_car_090620/20090620?hub=TopStories
Flying car coming sooner than you think
Updated Sat. Jun. 20 2009 7:10 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
The man behind the Terrafugia Transition, dubbed "The Flying Car," says you could see his vehicle on the road and in the skies as early as 2011.
The two-seater vehicle completed its first flight last March and just recently completed 27 additional flights, wrapping up the first of a four stage process to bring the Transition into production.
"It's been very successful," Carl Dietrich, co-founder and CEO of Terrafugia, told CTV's Canada AM in a recent interview.
"We've got a very good handling vehicle and our test pilot said that the flights were just remarkably unremarkable -- it just flies like a really nice, little airplane."
The tests were held to demonstrate how the vehicle can drive, fly, and automatically transform between the two.
Dietrich said the vehicle targets pilots who currently face a number of obstacles that prevent them from flying on a more regular basis.
"Weather sensitivity is a huge one," he said.
"This vehicle allows a pilot to at any time, if the weather changes, to divert to the nearest airport, fold up their wings and drive safely under the weather."
After landing, transforming from plane to car takes the pilot less than 30 seconds.
Dietrich said a second barrier is the expense of owning an aircraft.
"With the wings folded up, the vehicle actually fits inside a single car garage," Dietrich said.
He said that equates to large savings for pilots because they don't have to spend money storing the vehicle in a hangar.
In the air, the Transition can cruise up to 725 kilometres at more than 100 kts (185 km/h).
It has front wheel drive on the road and a propeller for flight. Both modes are powered by unleaded gasoline.
The vehicle is expected to cost around $200,000 and Dietrich said he already has 60 deposits of $10,000.
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/1801/flyingcar.jpg (http://img32.imageshack.us/i/flyingcar.jpg/)
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090619/flying_car_090620/20090620?hub=TopStories