Transition is street-legal, can fly
The Transition (left)
Many analysts say recession sparks innovation, and that certainly seems to be the case with new company Terrafugia’s invention: a flying car called the Transition.
Inventor and company owner Carl Dietrich insists it is not a flying car, but a “roadable aircraft.” I fail to see the difference, but he’s the boss.
Rising quickly
I mentioned the Transition earlier this month because it was on a Forbes list of inventions to keep an eye out for. Now it is confirmed that this futuristic-sounding invention is fully functional. It took off March 5 from the Plattsvlle International Airport in New York.
Funding entrepreneurship
Luckily for Dietrich, he didn’t have to pay for all of the development on the Transition through personal loans and small business loans. In 2006, Dietrich and his team of developers won $30,000 from MIT to help make this dream into a reality.
Still developing
The product won’t be available at a dealership near you for quite a while.Though a drivable vehicle did fly out of that New York airport, that only serves as a proof of concept.
Terrafugia still must develop a production prototype. That prototype must then be tested and certified. The company expects the first sellable products to be out in 2011.
More features
Makers of the Transition highlight the fact that when the wings are folded up the vehicle fits nicely into a standard car garage. At the company’s web site, a main selling point is that there is no need for a seperate vehicle to drive to the airport.
The Transition is also convenient if pilots hit bad weather. They can simply land at the nearest opportunity and then finish their journey on the ground. Gone are the days when trips must be cancelled mid-flight because of unsafe skies.
Well, those days are almost gone.
George Jetson, eat your heart out. They’ve actually been playing with airplane/car combinations since the late 40s, and some with some success. The car that becomes a plane in The Man with The Golden Gun was not actually far off in the least – one of the models toyed with was using the Ford Pinto. (Which is probably why it didn’t last.) However, the Terrafugia is (Flying Earth?) still a bit pricey. When they get the cost down to 50 grand, I’ll bite.