Earlier, we reported that privately held small American corporation Terrafugia had been developing a car dubbed the Transition that would not only be able to run on the road, but also will be able to fly? For a long time, people had been awaiting when they would see the Transition flying. Last Monday, on July 29, 2013, for the first time, the “roadable plane” (everyone calls it “flying cars”) flew in front of the public at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis.
Transition is a winged 2-seater aircraft. It is called “roadable plane,” because when it is driven on the road, it can fold its wings. On road, this vehicle can be driven at maximum 65 mph speed, while in air, it can fly at maximum 107 mph. This plane needs just 30 meters (100 feet) of runway space to take off, and less to land, and only about 30 seconds to extend or retract the wings. In air, Transition can travel almost 500 miles before having to set down to refuel.
Besides, Transition can also run on avgas, a leaded aircraft fuel that has a significantly greater environmental impact than conventional automobile gasoline. The best thing of Transition is it can be parked in a typical household garage. However, in the last 7 years, Terrafugia collected about US$10 million and finally developed Transition.
Last Monday, Terrafugia took out the vehicle from its home and flew for the first time at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis for about 10 minutes before the gathered crowd. First delivery of Transition is scheduled for 2016. Check out the demo video of Transition flying.
Here is a footage of Transition in flight from the perspective of a camera on its wings:
Source: ExtremeTech
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