Remember Terrafugia’s Transition Flying Car we saw back in December? Well, today the company let us all in on details about a successful first test flight that took place earlier this month. The achievement brings our dreams of a production flying car that much closer to reality, even if the $194,000 price tag prevents most of us from ever owning one.
The official first flight took place at Plattsburgh International Airport on March 5th 2009 and was accompanied by a more traditional chase aircraft (image below). The two-seater is able to fly 450 miles at a speed of 115MPH and runs on regular unleaded, that can be topped up at any gas station.
When on the road, the craft uses a front-wheel-drive system which can achieve and maintain highway speeds. When in the air, the craft relies on a propeller mounted on the rear for propulsion. The whole transformation process from car to plane, or vise versa, takes a single pilot less than 30 seconds, making it a extremely flexible machine indeed.
For those who can afford to own one of these amazing roadable aircraft, you can still place a deposit of $10,000 at Terrafugia’s site.
I wonder how the Moller SkyCar is getting on?
Source:
Jalopnik (w/Press Release)