Terrafugia Readies For Flight Tests The stories are legion... the 'roadable plane' the vehicle that would cross over a number of barriers to offer the ultimate in transportation versatility. And that' just some talented engineers from MIT are working on... the 21st century version of the 1960s "Aero Car." Introduced at Oshkosh 2008, a group of award-winning MIT Aeronautical Engineers introduced a proof of concept version of what they hope will expand the general aviation market and bring more flexibility to flying. The Terrafugia management team credits the creation of the Light Sport category of aircraft as the catalyst to being able to develop a buildable and marketable LSA, capable of both flying and driving. Unlike other historic attempts at developing a "flying car", the Transition's transformation from aircraft to car is fully automated and takes an estimated 15 seconds to fold the wings and reconfigure from an aircraft to a car. The company has a US patent pending on the folding wing technology, and from a business perspective, sees many of the technological achievements as alternative revenue sources to fund company growth and financial stability. At Oshkosh, Terrafugia President Dr. Carl Dietrich shared what MIT scientists believe are fundamental obstacles to increasing the GA market and the benefits that a roadable aircraft has in response. The first obstacle presented is weather. The Transition would allow the LSA pilot to use the road configuration during IFR conditions. Dietrich says this improves safety, by providing an alternative option to "pushing it" in marginal VFR. Another obstacle Dietrich cited is cost. The Transition is spec'd with a 20 gallon tank designed to achieve 4-5 gallons per hour fuel economy in flight configuration. It can be powered with either super-unleaded gasoline or 100LL, and most notably would not require a hangar or tie-down space at an airport. The Transition could be driven home and parked in the garage. The third issue mentioned was mobility once arriving at ...
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