Verrry interrrresting!
Posted on 09/18/2015 7:01:45 AM PDT by BwanaNdege
Verrry interrrresting!
The inventors, Robert W. Roe and Umesh N. Gandhi are serious engineers.
Here is another of their related patents, also assigned to Toyota (i.e. their employer)
http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20150251747
SMART MATERIAL TRAILING EDGE VARIABLE CHORD MORPHING WING
Gandhi has a ton of patents listed.
Looks like an A-10.
I question the financial wisdom of filing these. Assuming a patent issues, it will expire in about 20 years. Unless the inventor or his assignee can sell enough "flying cars" in that window, the patent process is money down a rat-hole.
Side mirrors are there so you can see if the wings are still attached.
Multiple wings mean a lot of drag and center of gravity problems. There are reasons airplanes look the way they do, it isn’t like a million alternatives haven’t been tried.
So, Doc Brown was right. Cool. Where did I put my hoverboard, now?
James, I think we’ve stopped.
7 Reasons the Terrafugia Transition Isn’t Coming to Your Garage
Sorry to be a nay-sayer & party-pooper.
It appears that Terrafugia has copied Zoche’s business model. Zoche has a great looking design and many running models of a radial, two stroke, supercharged aircraft diesel engine. People flying in remote areas of the world have been drooling over this design for decades. Zoche would show up at Oshkosh every few years with their engin.
“When will it go on sale?”
“Soon!”
Finally, everyone figured out that Zoche used a development loan from their local German state. Once the engine was on the market, they were obligated to repay the loan. No marketing, no repayment required.
http://www.zoche.de/
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/vulcanair-awaits-delivery-of-first-zoche-aero-diesel-61433/
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.aviation.homebuilt/YgvV9H1ztPQ - “From Flight International, 8-14 February 1995, p. 23. The Zoche radial aero-diesel engines are about to enter production.”
Zoche had spent far more on R&D and PR than they would ever be able to repay. So the engine quietly went away.
Terrafugia’s business plan also looks like a more sophisticated version of Moller’s, probably with more integrity.
“Investors Can Always Be Found For A Swoopy Flying Car!”
“Multiple wings mean a lot of drag and center of gravity problems. “
CG is only a problem in the vertical axis. i.e. CG is well below Center of Lift. However, fore & aft (longitudinal) and side to side (lateral) center of Lift vs CG are very well controlled.
One problem, depending on the method of propulsion, will , in getting the enter of trust and the center of drag (parasite & induced) close. If a prop is used (ducted fan) placing the Prop shaft the top of the roof looks about right and would allow a large, slow turning, quiet & efficient prop.
The CG is not any lower than on a hang glider or a parasail.
Aircraft with a very short length have an issue of pitch stability. Having the CG low fixes that.
It's really fun and exciting to dream about an invention like this...but I hope nothing comes of it in my lifetime.
I pay through the nose for auto insurance mostly because of all the nutcases on the road today.
I don't even want to think of nutcases, pinheads and drunks flying the friendly skies of America......at all. Yikes!!!
Leni
http://mojaveskies.blogspot.com/2008/07/toyota-in-sky.html
“Recent flights of the Toyota Advanced Aircraft (or TAA-1) at Mojave, along with some cryptic comments by Toyota about their aviation projects, has generated speculation that Toyota may be resurrecting the idea of entering the general aviation market.”
From 2008, but nevertheless interesting.
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