I really want to get a sport pilot's license and get me one of these things. Screw you 80 minute commute!
In non-Logan-related aviation news the much lampooned Terrafugia Transition, a flying car “roadable aircraft” did something most people (Boston media included) were skeptical it would ever do. It flew. On Wednesday the car plane, er, car-plane flew over 3,000 feet for 37 seconds at the Plattsburgh International Airport in Plattsburgh, NY.
Instead of the Wright brothers, the creators of the first roadable aircraft were the husband and wife team of Anna and Carl Dietrich. The pair, both pilots, met while students in MIT’s graduate program in aeronautics. Along with three other MIT engineers and pilots, they founded Terrafugia in 2006 in Woburn. Carl and Anna were married about a year later.
The challenges facing the small start-up were daunting. After years of work on the design, dating all the way back to their grad work at MIT, they still needed to construct the Transition piece by piece, secure funding and comply with regulators, all while ignoring the taunts of skeptics. But after watching the “stunning” liftoff, Richard Gersh, the VP of business development (and the only non-engineer in the 10-person company), tells Boston Daily that it was all worthwhile. “The huge celebration we had reminded me of the Sox winning the World Series in ‘04,” says Gersh. “We knew it would happen eventually, but it was great when it finally did.”
The Transition is classified as a Light Sport Aircraft, which means it only requires a sport pilot license to fly. The license requires less flying time, only 20 hours of in-flight training, and is only valid for one or two-seater planes that don’t exceed flight speeds of 138 mph.
Terrafugia’s roadable aircraft was designed to avoid many of the pitfalls associated with owning a private plane. Rather than renting a hangar at the airport, where some airports have five-year waiting lists and most charge significant amounts of money, the Transition can be stored in a normal two-car garage. Its wings fold up in about 30 seconds for highway driving and storage.
Future owners could easily take the aircraft out to Nantucket for the day. Just drive the Transition to the closest airport, glide down the runway, and fly over the traffic at speeds of 115 mph to Nantucket for lunch. No car rental necessary. And in bad weather the plane can land at any airport and take to the highway. The aircraft also uses regular automotive gasoline and is good for trips under 500 miles.
Gersh says, “One of our goals is to put the excitement back in flying for all ages. We want to put the interest of becoming a pilot back in the minds of many people who never thought they could become pilots.”
Terrafugia looks to have a vehicle in customer’s hands by 2011. They are already taking downpayments of $10,000 toward the estimated cost of $198,000, which is less than the standard Cessna 172. Gersh describes the test flight as a “mile stone” and acknowledges that it was necessary to muzzle, temporarily at least, naysayers. “If you are making an airplane and it hasn’t flown, you don’t really have an airplane,” he admits.
But, to be sure, this aircraft is only for certified pilots. Gersh says it might replace their plane, but it’s not meant to replace their car, a la “Jetsons.” There is also still a significant amount of work left before the aircraft hits the market. It needs to undergo additional flight and drive testing and a pre-production prototype must be built and certified, according to the company’s press release. Still the fabled dream of transitioning seamlessly from land to air and back is a tremendous step, er, leap closer. Gersh says, “We are all tired, but it’s a good tired.” He adds, “And my kids are proud of me.”
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