First roadable airplane takes flight

[Guest fullstoplanding]

http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2009...;WT.mc_sect=ganAfter landing you could either taxi to the ramp or drive home :( Roger

[PelicanHazard 0]

:( I really hope they did their sums right. Those wings won't need much encouragement to fold in flight

[Chock 17,769]

Here's one sum for you. Mmm... let me think... 194,000 Dollars for that, or 40,000 Dollars less for a brand new Cessna Skycatcher and a brand new Rauch Ford Mustang.Al

[Guest evanxmcr]

good point id go for the mustang and cessna any day.i think some of the price is how cool would it be to own the worlds first line of flying cars?its more of a novelty in my opinion

[rhagen 0]

Well...it's not the first. I vaguely remembered seeing a picture of a flying car back in the 70's. A little research and it turns out what I had seen was a 1949 Taylor Aerocar. The wiki also listed four other designs that have flown in 1937, 1946, 1950 and 1973. The 1973 AVE Mizar probably would've looked familiar since it was made by mating the rear end of a Cessna Skymaster with a Ford Pinto! :( The Wiki went on to list 14 current development examples!

[byork 2,259]

I'd buy it if I had $200K burning a hole in my pocket... but after the Eclipse fiasco I'd be afraid to put any money upfront for it.

[Guest fullstoplanding]

Me too, I'd buy one, but I wonder what it weighs and cruises at since I can fly only if it meets the LSA specs. :( And, I clear up that little incident with the FAA (see Inverted Over NYC, The AVSIM Screen Shot Forum.) :( Roger

[dbrucem 0]

Well...it's not the first. I vaguely remembered seeing a picture of a flying car back in the 70's. A little research and it turns out what I had seen was a 1949 Taylor Aerocar. The wiki also listed four other designs that have flown in 1937, 1946, 1950 and 1973. The 1973 AVE Mizar probably would've looked familiar since it was made by mating the rear end of a Cessna Skymaster with a Ford Pinto! :( The Wiki went on to list 14 current development examples!

They are not claiming to be the first aircar, just the first with integrated folding wings that do not have to be detached and towed behind the car. I don't think the price is out of line considering a new Cessna 172 can cost that much.

[Guest fullstoplanding]

I wonder if this concept had ever been done as a homebuilt like the hundreds of aircraft designed and built in this fashion? Any one who is a member of EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) or is familiar with homebuilts my know more about this.Roger

[rhagen 0]

They are not claiming to be the first aircar, just the first with integrated folding wings ...

I was only referring to the title of this thread "...First roadable airplane..." and another statement in this thread "... the worlds first line of flying cars...". It gave me the impression that some may have thought this was the first. I did see that Terrafugia, on their web site, makes no claim to be the first. And even the AOPA article qualified their "first" statement with "...previous attempts at flying cars required the wings or other components to be trailered on the ground." I just thought it might be interesting to know how old the idea was and how many designs there were. Before I did a little research, I would have only guessed one or two.

[Guest fullstoplanding]

Here' a link to the Terrafugia website. Other than it's cost, this thing simply fascinates me. And yes, it's falls under the LSA category which is very important to me. http://www.terrafugia.com/Roger

[PelicanHazard 0]

For the cost, though, I'd rather get the ICON A5, another LSA, but amphibious, too.

[gman! 1]

Honestly, I think cars and airplanes should remain separate, they were never made to be combined, because one goes in the air and one stays on the ground. The skies already have enough traffic, if we got planes that are also cars, it will be a massacre. Plus, I wouldn't feel safe if all those horrible drivers somehow passed the FAA test and got into the sky. Talk about scary! So, basically, although this is great technology, I think it will not be something major, and its looks will probably turn most away.

[Guest tmilton]

I think cars and airplanes should remain separate, they were never made to be combined, because one goes in the air and one stays on the ground.

"Never made to be combined"That , frankly speaking, is a luddite type of mentality. History is replete with similar authoritative "pronouncements" in many categories by self described "experts" who were eventually and spectacularly proven dead wrong."Because one goes in the air and one stays on the ground" Huh? :( That is an amusingly poor reason, and I suspect you know it as well. :( As far as the possibility of other "bad drivers" in the air, I think that is certainly a valid concern that you stated, and recognizably so. But I don't think it will be easy for just any average person to buy this vehicle and start flying right away.There are thousands and thousands of well trained private pilots who would love to have such a road/air capable vehicle. I would imagine they would be the among the first customers. However, to prevent the possibility of "bad" and less responsible drivers acquiring and flying such combo vehicles, I don't think the authorities would allow just any person to fly these vehicles. There would be stringent requirements in place, such as flight training and licensure, as there is now for pilots, to ensure that those allowed to fly these vehicles are well trained. With properly well trained drivers/pilots flying these combo vehicles, I don't think this future scenario will be "scary" at all. :(

[Guest SkullxBones]

With all those wings that close to the ground, I bet it's a real floater when landing.