30 July 2013
The Terrafugia Transition flying car has flown for the first time at a public event at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh.
According to reports, the aircraft drove away from its exhibit on the south side of the field, with the company’s chief test pilot, Phil Meteer, at the controls. He drove with the wings folded up and once on the ramp, the wings unfolded, and Meteer conducted a preflight before driving down to the end of the runway for takeoff.
The aircraft reportedly flew around the field a few times, then after landing, the wings folded up again, and Meteer drove off the field. The aircraft will fly again on Wednesday at 8pm prior to the night airshow, and is on display all through AirVenture at the Terrafugia exhibit.
Terrafugia is hoping to market its drivable aircraft to pilots who are often grounded by bad weather or have difficulty traveling after they land.
The projected price tag is $279,000, with the company stating that more than 100 people have paid the $10,000 refundable deposit. The company expects to build a third-generation prototype — the second generation on display at AirVenture — and then begin production for sale in 2015/16.
The aircraft is designed to cruise at 100mph in the air with a range of 410 miles with half an hour of reserve fuel; on the ground it can travel up to 65 mph with fuel efficiency of 35 miles per gallon.
<a href=’http://www.terrafugia.com’ target=’_blank’>www.terrafugia.com</a>
You can watch a video of the demo flight <a href=’https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om3Z1a2VPA0′ target=’_blank’>here.</a>
