This innovative company received FAA permission to test flying cars
As humans, it seems we are never satisfied with our incredible inventions. No sooner do we develop the automobile than we are looking for ways to make it fly.
In1940, Henry Ford himself proclaimed, "a combination of airplane and motorcar is coming." In 1964, Ian Fleming created perhaps the most famous flying car, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, Chinese drone manufacturer Ehang unveiled a one-seater, autonomous octo-copter. None of these, though, resembles the vision of automotive flight as closely as the Terrafugia TF-X, which recently won FAA approval to perform model test flights.
While they are undisputably awesome in theory, what makes flying cars any more feasible today than in the past? "The technological and regulatory change that is being driven by the UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) industry is laying the groundwork for flying car technologies to make their way to market," says Carl Dietrich, Terrafugia CEO/CTO. "From every angle, personal transportation is gearing up for massive change," including worldwide traffic congestion, autonomous vehicle control, and new regulations.
The tests authorized by the FAA allow Terrafugia to fly smaller models of their proposed hybrid-electric four-seater. Using models, they can "test the hovering capabilities of a one-tenth scale TF-X™ vehicle and gather flight characteristics data that will drive future design choices." The TF-X is currently under development and is not expected to be released for the next eight to twelve years, but design specifications include four-person capacity, five hundred mile range, vertical take-off and landing, and autonomous flight capability.
Terrafugia also produced the Transition, an airplane that folds in moments to become a street-legal car, but the vehicle requires pilot training and license to operate.
Terrafugia TF-X
Source: Are These the Flying Cars We've Been Waiting For?
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