Posted on 04/02/2012 8:16:26 PM PDT by smokingfrog
DRIVERS hoping to slip the surly - and traffic congested - bonds of Earth moved a step closer to realising their dream, as a US firm said it had successfully tested a street-legal plane.
Massachusetts-based firm Terrafugia said their production prototype "Transition" car-plane had completed an eight-minute test flight, clearing the way for it to hit the market within a year.
"With this flight, the team demonstrated an ability to accomplish what had been called an impossible dream," said founder Carl Dietrich.
The two-seater craft, which has the rounded features of a Fiat 500 and collapsible wings, is on presale for US$279,000 ($A267,869) and some 100 vehicles have already been ordered.
While many companies have successfully built a flying car, none have succeeded in producing more than a handful of models.
(Excerpt) Read more at heraldsun.com.au ...
The front wheels would act somewhat like rudders in flight, so he has to tie them off in a straight forward position to accomodate the airflow.
As my son said, “all planes are flying cars”.
Oops. Correction:
“A flying car is an airplane”.
It just seems like some of the bugs aren’t worked out LOL
Over a quarter million bucks, and it is running a Rotax engine.
My uncle was Dewey Bryan. He build a number of aircraft like this in the 1960’s and died at the Oshkosh airshow when a kotter pin gave way on one of his planes. He lived in Michigan and built the planes in his garage. During the winter he used the lake across the street for takeoffs and landings. He actually had a Michigan license plate on the plane.
He also invented the vertibird, showed it to Mattel who said they weren’t interested. The following Christmas every kid in the country wanted one.
http://www.roadabletimes.com/roadables-integ_bryan.html
http://vodpod.com/watch/4421638-leyland-bryans-flying-autoplane-1955
Experimentals can be dangerous, but good on your Uncle for pushing the envelope.
the a-holes in the adjacent lanes would never give you room to extend the wings. forget this in city traffic.
bm
They stole his idea.
I was just a kid of 13 or 14 when he died but I knew I was in the presence of someone who was very special. He was a lot of fun to be around and being around him sparked my interest in science and technology.
How do you file a flight plan and get it approved in time to avoid that tie-up on Route 66 W?
I think they need to be straight ahead for take offs and landings also.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.