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Terrafugia Transition, world's first flying car, to ship late next year
Flying cars are all hat, no cattle. But wait. What's this? A flying car that will actually exist, roll on real streets and highways and then take off into the wild blue? You betcha. Pony up your $194,000, and by the end of next year you'll be cruising skyward in a 1300-pound Terrafugia Transition and then parking it in your garage when you're done. It's more like a drivable airplane, but we'd rather call it a flying car.
Let's do a walkaround. Out back is a push prop, and the front canard does double duty as a wing and bumper. Its gas engine will push it over a range of 460 miles through the air. Look at the cool way the wings fold up into a compact package, completing its metamorphosis from airworthy flying machine to street-legal road rocket.
We've been hearing about this Terrafugia Transition for ages, so this is great news that it's actually going to be shipping to paying customers. The first flying prototype is scheduled to take off next month. Nice. Covert that prop to a jet engine and give it vertical takeoff capabilities, and we'll be living in the future.
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Popsci and Terrafugia, via Oh Gizmo
By Alternativesurfer at 1:59 PM ON 10/09/08
Ummm...There have been flying cars before, so your title claiming that this is the "World's First Flying Car" is incorrect.
By Fader at 2:08 PM ON 10/09/08
I'm assuming that they mean the first to actually go into production, which the aerocar did not.
By illustrator11 at 2:28 PM ON 10/09/08
these things are going to cause a lot of trouble.
a lot people are going to pimp these like their cars, so they are going to be loud and annoying even more i bet.
and drunk people fly / driving.. just asking for trouble.
i feel like humanity is not ready for this yet.
By GreenwoodKevin at 2:49 PM ON 10/09/08
It's a good thing these air cars are priced will out of range of most Americans. These things would give air traffic controllers nightmares.
By rcdave1445 at 9:52 PM ON 10/09/08
I want one!!!
By zed at 2:03 AM ON 10/10/08
A 1300 pound, Petrol powered flying car. With a 400 mile range. Yeah right. You guys ever heard of a certain sports car manufacturer called Lotus? Their catchphrase is "Lighter is Better" and they've yet to make a car under 18 hundred pounds that gets better than 25MPG.
By simon052 at 3:01 AM ON 10/10/08
I have seen so many "test flights coming soon" flying car companies. I'll believe it when i see it. Not that I think the technology is beyond us - I just am nervous about the hype. I'd like to see other information, like will it pass the EPA smog tests, will it pass the safety tests in a highway crash and what it's reliability and maintenance costs are.
By OddZod at 4:17 AM ON 10/10/08
"Does it come in black?" - Bruce Wayne
By krm398 at 6:26 AM ON 10/12/08
Like everything else, this isnt for everyone, not yet. Like the first cars were said to be too loud and smokey, and just anoyed the horses, you'll hear the same things here. Yep, a VTOL would be better, and one of those is coming out next year too..at about 100k..still enough to keep many out of it, but there are drunks in the highest paid, best familys, so keeping this away from them isnt any easier than hoping that fool behind you in a Hummer isnt stoned.
By Ionium at 7:21 AM ON 10/12/08
And what kind of license do you need for one of these things right? Both pilot and driving license? Cars of the future? does joe public have the money to pay for tuition for both licenses? nevermind the vehicle, and what effect does this have on the enviroment/oil industry, surely it takes more fuel to fly than to drive?
By Anonymous at 9:45 AM ON 10/12/08
I can see Paris Hilton getting a DUI in one of these.
By e.fine at 12:49 PM ON 10/12/08
My main concern would be the wings folding up in flight. I'd have to really be assured that couldn't happen.
By Diggs at 3:29 PM ON 10/12/08
What was that crap, animated video?! Where's the real video of an actual prototype flying? LMAO! Now why wouldn't they show the real thing?Hmmmmmm........I wonder................
By mirrors at 4:15 PM ON 10/12/08
Visual perception is lost with design. For automobile useage...there are no mirror's, plus side view are lost with wings folded.
By Flyboy at 11:15 PM ON 10/12/08
What I want to know is, horsepower, cruising speed, and ceiling. It's not a flying car, it's a roadable plane. No one's gonna park it at the mall. And do they really thing they're gonna get FAA approval by late next year when they don't even have a flying prototype yet?
By Rengaw at 11:56 PM ON 10/12/08
The real problem here is they are still doing it backwards, it shouldn't be a car that fly's, it should be a jet that converts to a car, another words you take off from a runway and get where you want to go fast in jet form then land at the airport and drop the wings and jet engines off and drive the car home without having to claim your baggage or go through boring customs.
By KimC at 8:07 AM ON 10/13/08
I think its great! And....its about time!
By Network233 at 8:55 AM ON 10/13/08
As Alternativesurfer has stated this is not the first flying car. check out episode one (1) of "James Mays Big Ideas" where he goes to florida to see the worlds only functional flying car. it's something like 40 or 50 years old. THIS flying car may be the worlds first practical flying car tho. :) CHEERS!
By cuda at 10:26 AM ON 10/14/08
have you drove on the road? It looks awesome! Looks like it may have some blind spots.
By ozman at 12:19 PM ON 10/14/08
How does reverse work? I see everything else (except the schedule) as being technically feasible. With the pusher prop as the only propulsion, how do you back out of that garage? Nice animation, but I want a test drive before I plop down enough money to buy a decent house.
By Davina at 10:20 PM ON 10/21/08
Holy crap!!!
you'll never get the faa to ever give you any kind of airspace to fly this in. Those of you that don't fly haven't got a clue to do so. The regs are mind numbing. The concentration and focus requires a little bit more than handling a cell phone or sandwich. Let's check on this one at the end of next year. L.M.A.O..
By Oxymoron at 11:01 AM ON 11/14/08
"Animated video"? James Bond flew a more sophisticated version of this thing back in 1983; see Octopussy. And Davina says it all: not in our lifetime.
By JAMES at 2:20 AM ON 11/16/08
I LOOK FORWARD TO THE FUTURE OF PURCHASING MY OWN "TERRAFUGIA TRANSITION. IN ORDER TO HAVE OUR ROADABLE AIRCRAFTS TO BEING ACCEPTED BY SOCIETY, WILL WE NEED TO DEVELOP A WAY TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS FROM OCCURING. I AM A STUDENT IN THE FIELD OF AVIONICS/AVIATION. MY IDEA OF PREVENTING AND DEVISING A REASONABLE SKY-WAY WILL BE TESTED BY MY GROUP IN THE NEAR FUTURE. DEPENDING UPON HOW SOON WE MAY DISCUSS THE IDEA OF LEVITATION IN THE SKY-WAY WILL BE THE FINAL STEP IN THIS BROAD FUTURE. ONE HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW OUR GREAT GRANDCHILDREN WILL SAY TO THEM SELVES PERHAPS, "WHAT THE HECK WAS TRAFFIC? OR MAYBE THEY WILL BE DOING A SOPHMORE COLLEGE PAPER ON THE 20TH-21ST CENTURY AND IT'S PROBLEM WE CONTEND WHILE ENTERING OUR GREAT CITY OF BOSTON, MA. PERHAPS THE PAPER WILL BE TITLED, " WHAT WAS RUSH OUR, AND WHY WAS IT THE SLOWER PART OF THE AFTERNOON? WHY DOES RUSH HOUR HAVE TO BE THE SLOWEST PART OF OUR DAY. LETS MOVE FORWARD AND ALLOW THE EXPERTS TO SOLVE THIS ONGOING PROBLEM. OIL PRICES, AND OIL COMPANIES ARE GOING TO GET THEIR FINAL DOLLARS. IT'S THEIR LAST CHANCE IN MAKING OUR HISTORY BECOME ACTUAL HISTORY. REALITY IS NOT AS LABORIOUS AS YOU MAY THINK. TRUST ME "TERRAFUGIA TRANSITIONS" ARE GOING TO BE THE FINAL PIONEERS. SOLVING GAS PRICES AND TIME ARE KEY TO ELIMINATE. LETS ALL DO THE MATH AND KNOW THAT THIS IS GOING TO TRANSPIRE SOONER THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE. JAMES PETER FARADIE
By James at 2:29 AM ON 11/16/08
REMEMBER, AND I AM NO EXPERT IN ANY AREA OF LIFE. YET I DO KNOW SOME OF THESE COMMENTS PEOPLE HAVE REGARDED ARE SO NAIVE. DON'T BE SO QUICK TO JUDGE "TERRAFUGIA TRANSITION. LASTLY REMEMBER, "ONLY THE STUPID SUFFER" TAKE CARE AND GODSPEED!
By Alex at 5:28 PM ON 01/11/09
Well I think its cool. There is a neighbourhood near by where everyone has a Plane in their garage and the driveway led to a landing strip.
Speed is about 115-125 max, uses gas, and you can add a emergency parachute to the top for those times you start to fall.Cost is high though.
By Nickathome at 12:24 PM ON 05/06/09
You people are morons. You will need to have passed a tleast the Sport Pilot category of FAA required licensing before being allowed to fly one of these. Why is it that the imbicilic public autamatically thinks, "flying car...duh anyone can fly"......Idiots!
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