Is it a flying car? Or a drivable airplane?

See http://www.livescience.com/technolog...lying_car.html
for images.

An Idea That Just Might Fly
By Gregory Mone

posted: 24 July 2006
10:31 am ET

Even though you’ll park it in your garage, drive it to your nearest
airstrip, and pilot it to your destination, don’t think of the Transition
as a flying car. Carl Dietrich, the MIT aeronautical-engineering graduate
student who is designing the vehicle, prefers the term “roadable aircraft”
—meaning a plane that drives, not a car that flies.

“We try to steer away from The Jetsons,” Dietrich says. “It’s a step in
that direction, but a baby step.”

Still, in an age of hub-centric commercial flights, Dietrich thinks the
ability to cruise between two of the 4,800 small airports nationwide and
then drive to a final destination, whether your office or vacation home,
will be irresistible to amateur pilots.

He and his team are finishing a one-fifth-scale model for wind-tunnel
tests. They hope to build a prototype within two years and to have the
first Transitions rolling down runways by 2010.

The projected price tag? About $150,000, roughly the price of a fully
loaded Ford GT sports car.

Leaving home: A fender bender could ruin the aerodynamics of the plane, so
the big challenge is to make the Transition both flight- and road-ready. In
car mode, the tail folds up, revealing a bumper. The control surfaces of
the twin vertical stabilizers fold inward, shielding the propeller from
debris.

Driving: With only two seats and no trunk space, the Transition won’t be
ideal for trips to Costco. But the 6.5-foot-high car will be able to reach
highway speeds, Dietrich says, and could be refueled at any gas station
that sells super-unleaded gas. Expected mileage on the road: a not-too-
shabby 40 miles per gallon.

Transformation: On the runway, a flip of a switch starts the metamorphosis.
The tail folds down, the wings flatten and lock into place, and the control
surfaces of the vertical stabilizers line up. A security system, such as a
thumbprint scanner, will keep Junior from “taking off” with the car.

Flight: With an air-cruising speed of 120 miles an hour, the Transition
will be able to fly 500 miles on a single tank of gas. Inside the cockpit,
“it’s all conventional general- aviation controls,” Dietrich says, “so it
should be familiar to pilots.” In bad weather, you could simply divert to
the nearest airport and drive the rest of the way.


Brian
--
http://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism
Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html
Quake "predictions": http://www.skywise711.com/quakes/EQDB/index.html
Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes?

"Skywise" wrote in message
...
See http://www.livescience.com/technolog...lying_car.html
for images.

An Idea That Just Might Fly
By Gregory Mone


Why do these guys always think they can build an Airplane/Car for less than
what an airplane costs?

Amazing! There was something like this in Popular Science in the
1950s, 60's and 70's. I'm still waiting for my hovercraft.

AJ

"Skywise" wrote in message
...
See http://www.livescience.com/technolog...lying_car.html
for images.

An Idea That Just Might Fly
By Gregory Mone



I'm thinking "death trap".

-------------------------------------------------------
DW

Gig 601XL Builder wrote:
"Skywise" wrote in message
...
See http://www.livescience.com/technolog...lying_car.html
for images.

An Idea That Just Might Fly
By Gregory Mone


Why do these guys always think they can build an Airplane/Car for less than
what an airplane costs?



I've been in touch with the Terrafugia team, and basically the answer is
that it will cost more than an airplane of similar category/capability.
Since the plan is to have the craft fit the sportpilot category (2
seats, 1320lb gross weight) which usually cost somewhere around $100k,
there is roughly a $50k difference in price to account for the extra
complexity. Time will tell if the cost can be contained to this level.

Since it's a low performance aircraft, I think they have a shot at
keeping it under $200k. That's a lot for a light sport aircraft, but on
the other hand, it's an aircraft with unique capability that changes the
value proposition. If they can get through the certification process, I
believe the market will respond. Interestingly, certification is likely
to be a tougher challenge for the drive mode of the vehicle than the
flight mode, since flight mode is covered under sport pilot and the team
consists of a bunch of MIT aeronautical engineers!

I'm rooting for them. They are taking risks and pushing the envelope.
Why are we not all rooting for them? GA would be healthier if we would
embrace change and applaud the innovators!

-Aviv

On 24 Jul 2006 15:55:08 -0700, wrote in
. com::


That's also why those unrealistic half-baked proposals for flying
cars have been consistently failing for over 50 years.

That, and the miniscule market as compared to automobiles.

On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 22:27:42 -0400, Aviv Hod
wrote in
::

They are taking risks and pushing the envelope.
Why are we not all rooting for them?

You can count me among the supporters of aeronautical innovation.

"Aviv Hod" wrote in message
news
Gig 601XL Builder wrote:
"Skywise" wrote in message
...
See http://www.livescience.com/technolog...lying_car.html
for images.

An Idea That Just Might Fly
By Gregory Mone


Why do these guys always think they can build an Airplane/Car for less
than what an airplane costs?

I've been in touch with the Terrafugia team, and basically the answer is
that it will cost more than an airplane of similar category/capability.
Since the plan is to have the craft fit the sportpilot category (2 seats,
1320lb gross weight) which usually cost somewhere around $100k, there is
roughly a $50k difference in price to account for the extra complexity.
Time will tell if the cost can be contained to this level.

Since it's a low performance aircraft, I think they have a shot at keeping
it under $200k. That's a lot for a light sport aircraft, but on the other
hand, it's an aircraft with unique capability that changes the value
proposition. If they can get through the certification process, I believe
the market will respond. Interestingly, certification is likely to be a
tougher challenge for the drive mode of the vehicle than the flight mode,
since flight mode is covered under sport pilot and the team consists of a
bunch of MIT aeronautical engineers!

I'm rooting for them. They are taking risks and pushing the envelope. Why
are we not all rooting for them? GA would be healthier if we would
embrace change and applaud the innovators!

-Aviv

Unless they build it out of some really exotic material there is no way in
hell they are going to build a car that is capable of flight and stay within
the 1320 GW required of the LSA rules. If they use those exotic materials it
is going to cost a LOT more than $150K and I still doubt they can do it.

I applaud innovators but this isn't innovation it is a BS that is going to
suck some money that might be used for real innovation.