It needs no questioning that traffic jams have always been one of the worst problems people have to deal with on the roads within every single day. No matter whether they are going to work or simply to spend some leisure time with their family, such as a picnic, people always have to come across traffic jams and sometimes, the traffic jams can be really severe. Aware of such an issue, a company known as the Terrafugia has come up with a possible solution. It may not completely be a car since it can fly but it is not entirely a plane, either. Well, it is an aerocar.
Dubbed the Terrafugia Transition, this aerocar, as its name implies, is able to perform a transition from a car to a mini plane of sorts. It is completely legal for street use, too. As a road bound vehicle, the aerocar is basically a two-seater car. Yet, when the need arises to go up into the sky and avoid things like traffic jams, the car needs just a mere minute to transform into a plane, or a flying car, perhaps. This is possible, thanks to the US-based Terrafugia. Recently, the company has even unveiled its more advanced plans that it will most likely apply to a new plug-in hybrid electric flying car known as the TF-X. The latter is capable of accommodating four passengers altogether. It will also benefit from vertical take-off and landing, or VTOL, capability using a fly-by-wire mechanism. Unfortunately, it is still eight to twelve years away before customers can start enjoying the TF-X. In addition to that, those who have purchased the company’s Transition aerocar will be given the privilege of ordering the TF-X first before other people.
For the Terrafugia Transition aerocar, the vehicle will run on a Rotax petrol engine with 100 hp of power output. To move the aerocar on the roads, the engine will deliver power to the vehicle’s rear wheels. Yet, in the sky, the aerocar will take advantage of its propeller, which will help it fly at the speed of 160 km/h. The aerocar is able to reach a range of 660 km, with a 30-minute reserve.
During its final testing stages, the Transition aerocar consumes approximately 35 mpg of fuel when on the road and it is actually authorized to fly in and out of no less than 5,000 US-based airports. The car can even be landed and driven under bad weather conditions. For those interested, the Terrafugia Transition aerocar comes at a price of only $279,000, with a refundable deposit of $10,000.
