Terrafugia ; The Future of Flying Cars No Longer up in the Air

For decades, the idea of flying cars has both fascinated and frustrated dreamers of all ages. But now, as we ease into the second decade of the 21st century, we may be getting very close to bringing these futuristic machines to fruition. In fact, Terrafugia,a U.S.-based company, had planned to demonstrate its prototype flying car, dubbed the Transition Roadable Light Sport Aircraft (or just “the Transition” for short) at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture 2011 convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in July 2011 but announced in the month before that while the flying car would be on display, it would unfortunately not be flying.

Terrafugia now expects test flights in March 2012 with the auto-aircraft hybrid making its first delivery to market later that year. Recent exemptions granted to Terrafugia by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will allow the vehicle to use plastic windows since glass would make it too heavy to fly. An exemption was also made to permit tires not normally allowed on multi-purpose vehicles. These exceptions to the normal rules of the road allowed the company to move forward with plans to test and market the craft. It would seem the dream is almost ready to become reality.

Those dreams have been with us since at least 1905 when the short story “Sultana’s Dream” by Bengali author and Muslim feminist Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain was published. In the story, a world dominated by women had developed many futuristic inventions including the flying car. Obviously man, and woman for that matter, had begun dreaming of taking flight while out for a drive almost as soon as automobiles were on the road. Since that time, flying cars have appeared in movies such as the Back to the Future series, books by authors like Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein, and cartoons such as The Jetsons.

And just as many writers have dreamed of the flying car, so have many companies. In addition to Terrafugia, Scaled Composites has been developing the Model 367 BiPod, designed by founder Burt Rutan before his retirement last April. Like the Terrafugia design, it can be stored in a standard garage, however, conversion is a bit more complicated than the Transition’s push-button shift from car to plane. The United States military also has a flying car in the works called the Transformer (TX), expected to begin production in 2015. And Paul Moller’s Moller International is also working on a Skycar but so far has demonstrated less than stellar results.

Of course, even once these flying cars become a reality, the average family will likely be hard pressed to afford one. With an estimated selling price of $200,000-250,000, the Transition will be in the class of luxury vehicle for many years to come. But even if you cannot afford to keep one in your garage, wouldn’t it be nice to at least see one on your street? Keep your eyes peeled! They may be touching down sooner than you think!

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