Review: Terrafugia flying car

We have seen amazing gadgets in science fiction and action movies of James Bond. In several Bond and other spy movies, state-of-the-art cars often not only can be driven on water and land alike but also can sprout wings and fly in the sky in time of need. This amazing fictional concept is now about to become a reality. A group of award winning MIT trained scientists and engineers in an aircraft building corporation Terrafugia of Transition Roadable Aircrafts are developing a typical flying car since 2006. The car which is nicknamed Terrafugia Transition will soon be able to take wings as well as traverse roads under the supervision of US National Highway Safety Administration.

Terrafugia Transition

What does it offer?

As discussed earlier, this car can traverse sky and road with equal ease. At first it needs a runway of 1,700 ft in length which is equal of one-third of a mile to take off properly. When the pilot needs to get down to the road he can manipulate this driving transition quite easily from cockpit. It takes only 20 seconds to do the transition from a plane to a car. To drive the vehicle safely in roads, the designers have made arrangements by which the wings of the plane/car are folded as soon as it gets down and start running through the road. With telescopic wings which have a span of 6ft 6inch (1.98m) high, 7ft 6inch (2.29 m) wide and 19ft 6inch (5.94m) in length, this unique car is designed in such a way that it can be easily placed into a standard normal garage.

The Beauty

This unique two in one car cum airplane has facilities of car and airplane both. It has seat arrangements for two people and has facilities for luggage built in the back like a luggage boot of a normal car. For sudden accidents, it has air bags and crumple zones also built in for safety purposes. When it sprouts wings and flies in the sky its propeller is built in such a way that it can be immensely helpful to the pilot when he wants to build a little bit of speed. The designers also have made arrangements that the position of the wings can be shifted in time of need.

The Beast

This car cum plane is built in such a way that it has to be a lightweight vehicle which can make its transition and move with quite ease like a lightweight sports plane. Keeping this in mind the makers have built it in lightweight carbon-fiber and incorporated a four-cylinder, four-stroke, gear-reduction Rotax 912S Piston drive engine which provides 100horsepower (75KW) . This engine is built in such a way that it can be cooled off by water when it is hot. It has additional facilities built in forms of a pusher propeller and twin tails.

The Thrills

This vehicle which needs automotive grade unleaded gasoline as fuel can fly at a speed of 115 MPH while it has a flying speed of 107 mph (93 kn ; 172 k/h when it is cruising idle within a flight range of 425 nmi i.e. 489 mi ; 787 km). To the delights of the people who like to speed up on deserted roadways this car can run at a speed of 65 miles per hour which is equivalent of 105 k/h.

Interiors

This two in one car has every modern cockpit facilities like a modern flying machine with easily operable LCD touchscreen and GPS which comes under normal flight regulations (VFR conditions). It also has steering wheels, gas and brake pedals for roads as well. In future this car will have a joystick, throttle and rotter pedals as stated by the makers.

Exteriors

This car cum airplane has two front headlights like a common car. Moreover its cockpit cum dashboard has width of 1.3 m. It has telescopic folding wings which are designed with such perfect mathematical measurement that the car can be housed in any standard garage easily. Besides, the body of the car is built in lightweight carbon-fiber.

Should I buy one?

Now a question can be asked that whether this kind of fiction made into a reality car is authorized by the Government? The makers are assuring that it is 100 percent legal and if you have large amount of money you can go for it without any hesitation in mind.

The Price & Availability

The car makers have stated that the booking for the car has already started. The original price tag is $250,000, while you have to pay $10.000 for advance booking which is refundable. The company has also stated that more than 100 bookings for the car have already been made. So what are you waiting for? Go and taste how the dream has become a reality.