The dream of a flying car came a step closer to reality, after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted approval for a hybrid ground-to-air vehicle that can fly at speeds of 160 km / h.
Terrafugia Transition received the Airworthiness Certificate of Special Aircraft Light-Sport from the agency, giving it the green light for takeoff.
A flight-only version of the spacecraft is now available to pilots and flight schools, although it will still be another year or more before its car components are ‘legal’ – it still needs to meet traffic safety standards.
Ultimately, drivers will be able to move from flight to direction in less than a minute, taking off and landing at small airports or on the highway.
Terrafugia expects to have production and approval of the full two-seater hybrid by 2022, but those interested in taking a ride will need a driver’s license and a sport pilot’s certificate.
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The FAA has approved Terrafugia’s Transition, a ‘flying car’ that can fly at speeds of 160 km / h and an altitude of 10,000 feet. Flight-only models are now available, with full air-to-ground version expected in 2022
Chinese-owned Terrafugia has been overly optimistic about the launch of a ‘rotatable aircraft’, a small plane with retractable wings that can either drive on the road or fly into the open sky.
He promised first that the transition would go on sale in 2015, then in 2018 and then in 2019.
But Terrafugia’s general manager, Kevin Colburn, praised his team’s efforts during ‘an extremely challenging year of pandemic’.
“Our team remained focused, improved our quality system, completed the critical aspects of the project, built the vehicle, completed 80 days of flight testing, delivered 150 technical documents and successfully passed the FAA audit,” said Colburn.
The Transition has a wingspan of 27 feet wide, but its wings fold to make the story easier in a one-car garage. Terrafugia envisages landers landing at a small airport or stretch of highway and then driving the vehicle home
‘This is a major achievement that creates momentum in the execution of our mission to deliver the world’s first practical flying car.’
WHAT IS THE EARTH TRANSFER?
The Terrafugia Transition was recently granted a special FAA airworthiness certificate for light aircraft.
The aircraft, which weighs about 1,300 pounds, has a fixed landing gear and folding wings.
It can reach speeds of 100 mph and an altitude of around 10,000 feet.
Owners will need a driver’s license and a sport pilot certificate.
Powered by a 100 hp Rotax 912iS Sport fuel injection engine, the Transition has a maximum flight speed of 160 km / h and a range of about 650 km, at an altitude of 10,000 feet.
The plane’s engine can run on premium gasoline or 100LL, while the car is powered by a hybrid electric motor.
Standard features include four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes, a rigid carbon fiber safety cage and a fuselage parachute.
The vehicle weighs about 1,300 pounds and has a fixed landing gear and a wingspan of 27 feet wide.
The wings actually fold up to allow easy storage in a single car garage.
Terrafugia imagines owners putting their Transition down at a small airport or a stretch of highway and then driving home.
This differs from the flying car prototypes developed by Uber, Kitty Hawk, BMW and others, which involve vehicles occupying commercial airspace.
The vehicle moves from flying to driving in less than a minute, according to Terrafugia.
In 2018, the two-seat Transition cost $ 400,000, NBC News reported.
Terrafugia is developing several flying car models, including the four-person TF-X, a four-seat hybrid electric capable of taking off and landing vertically.
The TF-X is programmed to be semi-autonomous, with computer controls that will allow passengers to simply enter their destination.
You will be able to automatically avoid air traffic, bad weather and restricted airspace.
Terrafugia was acquired by Chinese company Geely, Volvo’s parent company, in 2017.