The Flying Car That Could Expedite Your Morning Commute

Didge wrote:

An artist’s rendering of the TF-X in flight. Courtesy Terrafugia

Flying cars have long been the unofficial signpost that will mark our entrance into The Future. Now, it appears, that key moment could be soon approaching.
Flying car prototypes are nothing new. The U.S. Patent Office in 1918 issued Felix Longobardi the first patent for a flying vehicle, which was also submersible in water. Subsequent attempts at the flying car, though they flew, weren’t very practical. However, a team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni is working with a company called Terrafugia to develop a prototype that could make flying to work a reasonable proposition.

Fully Loaded
The developers are the same MIT alumni that developed the Transition car-plane, which still requires a 1,700-foot runway to take to the skies. To eliminate the need for runways, their new vehicle, dubbed the TF-X, would be capable of vertical takeoff and landing — a crucial maneuver in urban environments. Based on designs, its flight mechanics would be similar to themilitary’s V-22 Osprey, based on a video released by developers that simulates flight in the TF-X (below).
The TF-X is designed to seat four passengers, fit inside a standard single-car garage, travel 500 miles on one trip, and reach speeds of 200 miles per hour, according to specifications listed on the Terrafugia website. It would take just five hours of training for the average car driver to learn how to safely operate the craft.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2014/05/01/flying-car-expedite-morning-commute/#.U2SEV4FdXfJ




Looks like something straight out of James Bond 

victorisnotamused wrote:

Didge wrote:

An artist’s rendering of the TF-X in flight. Courtesy Terrafugia

Flying cars have long been the unofficial signpost that will mark our entrance into The Future. Now, it appears, that key moment could be soon approaching.
Flying car prototypes are nothing new. The U.S. Patent Office in 1918 issued Felix Longobardi the first patent for a flying vehicle, which was also submersible in water. Subsequent attempts at the flying car, though they flew, weren’t very practical. However, a team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni is working with a company called Terrafugia to develop a prototype that could make flying to work a reasonable proposition.

Fully Loaded
The developers are the same MIT alumni that developed the Transition car-plane, which still requires a 1,700-foot runway to take to the skies. To eliminate the need for runways, their new vehicle, dubbed the TF-X, would be capable of vertical takeoff and landing — a crucial maneuver in urban environments. Based on designs, its flight mechanics would be similar to themilitary’s V-22 Osprey, based on a video released by developers that simulates flight in the TF-X (below).
The TF-X is designed to seat four passengers, fit inside a standard single-car garage, travel 500 miles on one trip, and reach speeds of 200 miles per hour, according to specifications listed on the Terrafugia website. It would take just five hours of training for the average car driver to learn how to safely operate the craft.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2014/05/01/flying-car-expedite-morning-commute/#.U2SEV4FdXfJ




Looks like something straight out of James Bond 

there is something particularly scary about the thought of a multi vehicle pile up at 500 feet....  
the upside of course....is no cyclists   
would jumbo jets count as "HGV's" ?