'Flying car' makes progress

Back in March I blogged about the first flight of the Terrafugia Transition, a combination car and light aircraft.




The company's just announced that the first phase of test flights with the alpha prototype have been completed.

The "roadable" aircraft - dubbed the Flying Car - made 29 flights, says Woburn, Massachusetts-based Terrafugia "and has now completed the first of a four-stage process to bring the Transition into production".

The second phase of development is under way, with work on the beta prototype already in progress. First deliveries are earmarked for 2011.

"The proof-of-concept vehicle is the first and only Transition to be built thus far. It has now achieved its goals by demonstrating driving, flying and automated transformation between the two in one integrated aircraft," says Terrafugia.

Here are two video clips of the test program. In the first, the test pilot shows us the cockpit, and how it switches between road vehicle and aircraft modes of operation.

In the second, we see one of the test flights.

This looks very interesting. I note that Terrafugia hasn't released any video of the Transition flying at high altitude, or making turns. I assume that the alpha prototype needs more work before it'll be fully functional in a conventional flight envelope, but progress so far looks very promising. Hopefully the beta prototype will be more flexible and maneuverable.

I'll keep an eye on Terrafugia's Web site for updates.

Peter