One day.....one day in the future ..all Brit Fil couples will be making use of one of these. The Terrafugia http://www.terrafugia.com/tf-x
Convenience TF-X™ will carry four people in car-like comfort. TF-X™ will have a non-stop flight range of at least 500 miles. TF-X™ will fit into a standard construction single car garage. TF-X™ will be able to takeoff vertically from a level clearing of at least 100ft in diameter. TF-X™ will be able to drive on roads and highways – providing true door-to-door convenience and an automotive level of weather insensitivity. In order to facilitate the achievement of this new dimension of personal freedom, the TF-X™ will be priced as low as possible while still allowing Terrafugia to grow to support our customers. The final pricing will not be set until we are much closer to delivery. The biggest price driver is the cost of production. It is likely that TF-X™ will be more expensive than a “normal car” due to the higher costs of the enabling light-weight materials, but with investment in automotive scale production, early studies indicate that it is possible that the final price point could be on-par with very high-end luxury cars of today. As demand increases, new materials and manufacturing processes will surely be developed and the price may come down further in the distant future. - See more at: http://www.terrafugia.com/tf-x#sthash.NJYrZtgk.dpuf
When I was a young boy I has a science book. In that book were picture of similar flying machines flying around cities and they reckoned this would be reality by the year 2000!
Not a hope in hell that this is real or will ever become real. The wings are stubbier than an F104 Starfighter, 1 megawatt does not equal 300 bhp, and where the hell is it going to get a 1 megawatt power source anyway? I guess I'm being suckered into making the serious comment? For the record 1341 bhp = 1 megawatt, better than a Bugatti Veyron and this thing would probably be as heavy
Oh no, you've hissed on our fireworks now, I thought it was for real, I was going to try and book it and everything You're right, it will never fly
From USA Today : "Observers say the new craft appears to incorporate lessons from Terrafugia's participation in a Defense Department project to develop a flying Army jeep a couple of years ago. The tilt-rotor concept will be complicated because of both the added cost of creating such a craft and dealing with the takeoff noise, says John Brown, editor of theRoadable Times, which keeps tabs on the quest to build a flying car. While the idea might easily be written off as pie-in-the-sky, he says Terrafugia can't be written off. "I would caution anyone from saying this is science fiction," Brown says. "They have a track record of doing what they say. We need to take this seriously." Likewise, Paul Moller, whose Moller International has worked for years to bring a flying car to production, says he knows the difficulties of building the new design, but that Terrafugia is a "pretty impressive" company that might be able to pull it off. But Gersh says breakthroughs in both materials and technology make the concept possible. Carbon-fiber for the skin is both lighter and stronger than metals. Engines are becoming more compact and powerful. The TF-X is the "next logical progression" and the company's engineers -- it has 22 employees, about half of whom are engineers -- will be able to turn to its development as they finish up work on the Transition. "You've got to be looking forward," he says." Its a design concept. There is a transition version due out next year. I never say never.
Need it be that heavy? Veyron kerb weight 4160lbs Terrafugia Transition is a lot less at 1430lbs takeoff weight. A hairdryer fan might just be enough to power it. I believe it is a VTOL. Have you seen the size of those Ospreys? Technology is changing. 21 mpg in flight.
At least the Osprey has real wings with the curvy lifty bits The Moller M400 Skycar was a VTOL but at least it protected pedestrians a little from the whirly bits, and in my opinion it has a better chance of real flight though it too looks like it has little in the way of lift apart from vectored thrust and it has about 600 bhp, still has not been flown properly plus the guy has been developing the tech for 50 years and has now apparently filed for chapter 11. My joke about the Veyron was based on the weight of the engine that would deliver 1341 bhp in something the size of a family car I also don't see a jet turbine on the Terrafugia anywhere?
Its good to see this sort of thing. Many pioneers have failed where some have succeeded. We never could fly at all at one point and look at all the wrecks of all the efforts along the way. I have flown a million times in a vehicle without wings. 2015 isnt long to wait. Lets see if the Transitional version comes to fruition.