New Flying Car Truly 'Catches Air'

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s a Transition street-legal airplane created by Woburn, Mass.-based Terrafugia (terra-FOO-gee-ah) Inc.—a vehicle that even Superman or Batman would envy. And soon, it will be joined by the TF-X, an even more sophisticated hybrid-electric flying car that offers the capabilities of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL).

Created in 2006 by Carl Dietrich, Anna Mracek Dietrich and Samuel Schweighart—all alumni of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT (News - Alert)), the Transition is a street-legal airplane that converts between flying and driving modes in under a minute—enabling a pilot to land and drive in bad weather, providing integrated ground transportation on both ends of the flight, and engineered to fit into a standard single-car garage at home.  

The Transition can fly in and out of over 5,000 public airports in the United States and is legal to drive on public roads and highways. It is the only light aircraft designed to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and it is also equipped with a full-vehicle parachute for additional safety.  

Building on its experience with the Transition program, Terrafugia has begun feasibility studies of a four-seat, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) plug-in hybrid-electric flying car, the TF-X.  Incorporating state-of-the-art intelligence systems, fly-by-wire control, and currently available technology, the TF-X will further increase the level of safety, simplicity and convenience of personal aviation.

 “This is the right time for us to begin thinking about the future of the company beyond Transition development,” explained Terrafugia CEO/CTO Carl Dietrich. “We are passionate about continuing to lead the creation of a flying car industry and are dedicating resources to lay the foundations for our vision of personal transportation.”  

Terrafugia’s design team is excited to be looking ahead to TF-X development activities, as the Transition program shifts from research and development to certification, production and customer support activities.  The Transition serves as a Proof of Process for TF-X development and commercialization through the many technical, regulatory and usage challenges it has overcome.

The inventors believe that, by directly addressing congestion and other transportation challenges currently being faced internationally, widespread adoption of vehicles like the Transition and TF-X could result in significant economic benefits and personal time savings. 

In preliminary conversations with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about the TF-X concept, officials have demonstrated their willingness to consider innovative technologies.

Terrafugia is excited to be nearing production of the Transition and continuing to push the envelope of personal transportation.   Dietrich adds, “Terrafugia is about increasing the level of safety, simplicity and convenience of aviation.  TF-X is an opportunity to provide the world with a new dimension of personal freedom!”