Terrafugia Transition
Quick Summary
The Terrafugia Transition is a flying car with foldable wings produced in Woburn, MA by aerospace company Terrafugia. Terrafugia is also working on future eVTOL prototypes, such as the TF-2 and TF-X. The Transition is named such because of the foldable wing mechanism that allows for the wings to stow for legal driving on US roadways and then extended at an airport for "Transition" to flight mode.
Terrafugia, based in Woburn, MA, USA
Stage of Development
Preliminary Design
Prototype Build
Flight Testing
Certification
Commercially Operating
Technical Details
Aircraft Type: Intercity fixed wing STOL
Powerplant: Rotax 912iS
Range: 400 miles
Top Speed: 100+ mph
Propeller Configuration: One pusher propeller
Passenger/Payload Capacity: 4 passengers
Autonomy Level: Piloted
Wingspan/Dimensions: 26.6 feet
Additional Information
Useful Load: 500 pounds
Maximum Altitude: 10,000 feet
Fuel Burn (at cruise): 5 gph
Dimensions (Drive Mode): 6.5’ x 7.5’ x 19.5’
Dimensions (Flight Mode): 6.5’ x 26.5’ x 19.5’
Funding (unconfirmed): $6.8M
*Note - Terrafugia was acquired by Geely Holdings Ltd in November of 2017. Read our article on the acquisition here.
Our Take on the Transition
Terrafugia is no stranger to the flying car market - their efforts to design and produce the Transition dates back to 2006 when a group of MIT engineers decided to create some truly revolutionary. The first flight of the Transition occurred in 2009. Following the first flight, improvements were made and another design iteration completed to yield a better flying car in 2012. Now, flight testing is ongoing and Terrafugia's last hurdle to clear before production of the vehicle is the regulatory one. All indicators lead to Terrafugia applying the Transition for FAA Type Certification in the US - which will be the one of the first applications by a manufacturer of a true flying car - which will definitely encourage and gain the attention of other eVTOL manufacturers who are planning their certification paths while attempting to take in some lessons learned from other companies. Terrafugia may have the most engineering and flight operations experience for flying cars of any company in the world today, which gives them a large advantage and insight into what requirements actually matter for driving their product to success.
References
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