Free Republic

This ‘Back to the Future’ style flying car is closer to reality than you might think ... Massachusetts-based Terrafugia is developing the TF-X and states that the flying car is 8 to 12 years away from becoming an everyday reality ...

The idea of a flying car might seem like something out of a science fiction novel, but it may soon become a reality. All it'll take is about $30 million in funding and some patience. Terrafugia, a Woburn manufacturer of flying cars has been working on its vehicles for almost eight years. The MIT-born company has been working on two kinds of cars: the Transition, which is scheduled to be released in mid-2016 and can fly at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour at up to 10,000 feet in the air; and the TF-X, a semi-autonomous plug-in hybrid...

The idea of a flying car has fascinated dreamers and aviation geeks alike since humans first got off the ground with powered flight. The concept has obvious advantages: the "go anywhere, anytime" freedom of an automobile without any of the traffic congestion that terrestrial drivers face on a daily basis. Featured in movies like Back to the Future and Blade Runner, this mode of transportation has been restricted to the realm of science-fiction due to the complexity of the drivetrain required and the training that would be needed to operate such a vehicle. Now, a company called Terrafugia has put...