What price would you pay to cut your commute time? Ever wished you could just fly to work? Well guess what, that might just be a possiblity. The Terrafugia, a flying car developed by a group of MIT graduates, passed a key regulatory hurdle this month when the FAA agreed it could be certified in the Light Sports Aircraft category.
The concept of a flying car has long caught the attention of wealthy commuters, pilots and engineers. Think about it. Every time a hedge fund manager finds himself stuck on the Washington DC Beltway or Long Island Expressway, the thought crosses the mind: "What if my car was like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?" or "We can put a man on the moon, so why can't I have a jet-pack to keep from wasting all this time?"
The first model, the Transition, is expected to be in full production next year. In the air, it will have a cruising speed of about 115 miles an hour, a range greater than 400 miles, and a 10,000-foot ceiling. On land, it will get about 30 miles to the gallon.
The Transition has been engineered to pass Federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration safety regulations to make it street legal, though it still has to pass those tests and be certified.
Taking off and landing the Transition will require access to municipal airports. Though one would no longer need to pay for parking a car or renting a car once arriving.
