There's Your Flying Car
The TEDx conferences are always good for surprises, and the TEDxBoston conference yesterday was no exception. Two presentations caught the most attention: Brigham and Women’s Hospital surgeon Bohdan Pomahac talked about the first full face transplant in the United States. Carl Dietrich, CEO of Terrafugia showed a (soon) commercially available flying car.
According to International Business Times, Terrafugia “says it expects to deliver the first production vehicle late next year.” Terrafugia’s Transition car/plane was originally scheduled to hit road and skies this year, but problems with suppliers and production challenges are delaying the take-off. The price? Around $200,000 …
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
More by Bertel Schmitt
Comments
Join the conversation
It reminds me of Top Gear's Reliant Robin Rocket! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b4WzWFKQ20
That's way too sophisticated for Top Gear, lol. It reminds me of an Aptera at first glance. Aside from it being a novelty, I can't come up with any uses for a flying car offhand, though. Purpose-built vehicles are better at what they do, and this thing looks so highway unworthy on windy days or around Semis that it looks like it should only go short distances by road. Maybe that's the point: land at a remote airstrip and drive your plane to a place cause there's no ground taxis or rentals available. Are there any places like that which won't require travel over rough roads or terrain?
For reference, $200,000 isn't an outrageous price for a new single-engine piston aircraft. (Unsurprisingly, there's a healthy market for used aircraft.) @Advo: roadability is definitely a plus from a recreational pilot's perspective (assuming the airplane is at least moderately competent both on the road and in the air): 1) You avoid hangar costs. 2) You don't have to arrange ground transportation at your destination. 3) Some recreational pilots avoid #1 by living in communities with a shared airstrip; their houses have hangars built in. Terrafugia offers similar convenience with more flexibility. 4) Terrafugia creates new possibilities for the term "extreme commuting." :)
Damn, that thing has more/bigger wings than a ricer's Civic. Swap that Rotax for a Vtec, and you've got something.... Realistically, what are the chances of this thing driving through road debris, salt, potholes and whatever else cars, as opposed to planes, are exposed to; without requiring at minimum a thorough inspection of its designed to weight mechanisms? As a toy for aircraft enthusiasts this may be cool, but for more serious use, I just don't see it. Nice engineering project, though.