So, remember how I’d said that I’d announce a very lucky winner today? Well, I think we’ve waited long enough…Are you ready? I’m sorry, I must be deaf! I said, ” Are you ready?” I thought so! Our lucky winner is…………Carolyn Boyles! Congratulations Carolyn! Please contact me with the address you’d like the subscription sent to.
What the %#&! IS Terrafugia, let alone the Terrafugia Transition? I thought the same thing! Well, if you’re interested (which I’m sure you are!), the Terrafugia Transition is the FIRST flying car available to the public. Available, as in July of 2011, NHTSA cleared the Terrafugia Transition for legally driving on public roads. The Transition is a milestone in terms of cars that can fly! FYI: That doesn’t include jumping a Jeep off of a huge pile of rocks! But, don’t expect to see Transition’s for at least another 5-6 months. Though Terrafugia has been around for about 13 years, they don’t have a factory big enough to commercially produce the $250,000 flyable car. The Terrafugia will cost about $250-60,000, a company spokesperson said in September 2011. Powering the 970-pound Terrafugia is a Rotex 912S engine makes 100 horsepower. Guzzling only 35 mpg on the ground, a driver/pilot can go up to 300 miles on the ground, fill up with 23 gallons of premium unleaded automobile fuel, and take off from a local airport, go about 425 miles, fill up, and repeat the process. When on the ground, the Transition is rear-wheel-drive, and when in the air, the Rotex 912S engine acts as a pusher engine. The one small problem with the Transition is that it only can hold two people and 100 pounds of luggage. Terrafugia is thinking of making a larger model for oil companies to use, as the Transition only needs about 300 feet to take off. When on the ground, the Transition can go up to 65 mph. When in the air, it can go 112 mph, with a stall speed of 45 mph. The one thing the Transition is NOT meant to do is aerobatics. The steepest angle it can go at is about 70 degrees in any direction. This also applies to when going on a road, so don’t plan on going on narrow, hilly roads – you probably won’t make it…
Also, don’t expect to see a Transition take off from a long stretch of road or freeway; it’s required to take off and land from an airport. That also means that if you have a long, straight driveway, you cannot take off from it! One of the many things that NHTSA granted Terrafugia (which means “escape from land” in Latin) was to use RV tires, but Terrafugia is now asking to use equally safe motorcycle tires, as they are lighter, and as safe, if not safer. Terrafugia’s MIT trained engineers designed the folding wings of the Transition to be only 6’8″ tall; short enough to fit into an average garage. Terrafugia estimates that the Transition, which has been in development since 2006, to cost only $60,000 a year to maintain. The estimates for how much money will be spent on gas for the Transition are about $28,000 a year, as it is as efficient as a Honda Insight. American made, this car is good for people who want to buy local. All you have to do is wait for one to be produced and have $250,00 in the bank!
As Edmund’s InsideLine said “That’s one small step for mankind, one giant leap for Terrafugia.”
Enjoy looking around on the Terrafugia website, impress your bos, and lose yourself in the land of Terrafugia! http://www.terrafugia.com/index.html
The Unmuffled Auto News 