Driving / Flying in Our Future?
ABC News ran an article today entitled “Flying Car About to Take Off?” It’s the story of a firm from Woburn, MA called Terrafugia. (Click the link, really. You gotta see the cool little animation.)
They’re working on a vehicle called the Transition, which is a plane with folding wings that can be driven on a road. Oh yeah, meet George Jetson (his boy Elroy . . . Sorry, lost it for a sec.)
My Dad was a pilot and I always expected that at some point in my life I’d get around to taking lessons. I haven’t, but my godson is and I can hardly wait until I have a chance to go up with him. I love small planes. Zero desire to get on a passenger airliner, but a little two-seater? Any time, any place.
According to the ABC article, folks have been working on the flying / drivable vehicle since 1918. Funny thing is that I don’t think the engineering is the biggest hurdle this company will face. The article nails that issue with this sentence, “The greatest nontechnical challenge Terrafugia must face is meeting the regulatory requirements of both the FAA and the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NGTSA).” Amen.
They say they’re planning to sell 50 to 200 of these babies by 2009 but at $148,000 per, I won’t be among the buyers. But hey, it’s all about the dreaming.