Terrafugia Transition
| Transition | |
|---|---|
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| Type: | Flying car ; LSA |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
March 5, 2009 |
The Terrafugia Transition is a flying car from the United States- based manufacturer Terrafugia (a subsidiary of the Chinese Geely since 2017 ). It took off for the first time on March 5, 2009.
history
The idea of the transition is to combine the advantages of an airplane with those of a car. According to the will of the developers, however, no further airworthy automobile is to be created, but rather a “roadable aircraft”, so the focus is on use as an airplane. To this end, in 2006 three pilots, Carl Dietrich, Anna Racek-Dietrich and Samual Schweighard, who met at MIT , founded the company Terrafugia (Latin for escape from the earth). The first flight of the Proof of Concept took place on March 18, 2009 at Plattsburgh Airport in New York State with retired Air Force Colonel Phil Meteer on board. The flying car was designed so that it can be operated with the LSA flight license valid in the USA , which can be purchased from as little as 20 flight hours.
construction
Although the transition consists largely of carbon fiber reinforced plastic , the weight limit for light sport aircraft could not be adhered to. Due to safety equipment such as airbags or a roll cage, it is around 600 kg 55 kg higher. Operation is still possible with a special permit. The 76 kW (104 PS) piston engine Rotax 912S ensures a flight speed of 185 km / h via a pressure screw attached behind the fuselage. Thanks to the electrically folding wings and four wheels, the flying car can also be used on the road; the land-based speed reaches 105 km / h, so that the transition is suitable for the highway. The take-off distance on a firm runway is around 500 m.
Terrafugia Transition with the doors open
Terrafugia Transition with closed doors and folded wings frontal
Terrafugia Transition with closed doors and folded leaves in an oblique view
Terrafugia transition when unfolding the wings
Terrafugia Transition with unfolded wings
marketing
The transition should go into series production in 2012 after the extensive official approval tests have been completed. A hall of around 1,800 square meters was rented for this purpose. There are said to be numerous pre-orders, each of which had to be backed by a deposit of USD 10,000. Terrafugia announced December 2012 as the delivery date of the first series copies in June 2011, the price was put at USD 279,000. Currently (August 2013) no specific delivery dates are given.
Terrafugia sees the application area of the transition among the many private and business pilots in the USA and in other countries with a similar structure. The transition could land on most of the US's 5000+ small and sport aerodromes. Airfields with heavy passenger traffic or heavily used airspaces are unsuitable for the small aircraft.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data plane | Data car |
|---|---|---|
| Passengers | 2 (including pilot) | 2 |
| length | 5.84 m | 5.71 m |
| span | 8.38 m | 2.03 m (width) |
| height | 2.06 m | 2.06 m |
| payload | 195 kg | |
| Cruising speed | 185 km / h | 105 km / h |
| Range | 725 km | |
| Engine | a Rotax 912S |
Data:
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b SpiegelOnline: Scientists build flying cars. Retrieved January 25, 2010 .
- ↑ a b c focus.de: Goggo of the air. Retrieved January 25, 2010 .
- ↑ a b Terrafugia: The Transition® Roadable Aircraft. (PDF; 331 kB) (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 29, 2013 ; Retrieved January 25, 2010 .
- ↑ Spiegel.de: Flugauto Terrafugia Transition: Completely detached. Retrieved April 3, 2012 .