Terrafugia’s Transition “Roadable Aircraft” Wins FAA Approval For Weight Variance

The Transition, the aircraft that converts into an auto, received an exemption from the US Federal Aviation Authority, and can now go into production as a certified light sport aircraft, despite being 110 lbs over the Authority’s maximum weight of 1,320 pounds for LSAs.

Dr. Carl Dietrich, CEO/CTO of Woburn, Mass.-based start-up Terrafugia, designed the craft to meet both the FAA’s criteria for light sport aircraft and the safety features required by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. He found the FMVSS were more challenging to achieve and resulted in added weight for a roll cage, crumple zones and airbags — standard on cars but not on planes.

Anna Dietrich, co-founder and chief operating officer of Terrafugia, said, “Safety is one of the biggest selling points. Because the Transition is designed to operate on the road and in the air, we’ve incorporated all the safety features of a car into a plane.”

The configuration allows the aircraft to land in inclement weather, and drive the rest of the journey as a car. The transition from plane to car requires less than a minute. The wings fold upward, a steering wheel replaces the control stick, and the engine disengages from the rear-mounted propeller and connects to the rear driving wheels, all activated from inside the cockpit.

The Transition cuts time off the owner’s door-to-door trip by its ability to take off and land on shorter airstrips closer to residential neighborhoods and its ability to drive on any hard surface.

Its cruising speed in the air is 115mph (185kmh) and it has a range of 460 miles (740km). It requires a 1,650 foot-(0.5km) runway to take off and land, and can fit in a standard garage. The engine uses high octane auto gas, a saving over aviation fuel.

The Dietrichs, both MIT-trained engineers, created a buzz when they showed the prototype at the 2008 Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture in Oshkosh. At AirVenture 2009, Carl told the success story of Terrafugia at AeroInnovate’s Fulfilling Your Dreams forum, and was one of 7 entrepreneurs to make an elevator pitch at AeroInnovate’s Pitch and Mingle.

Terrafugia says that 70 people have ordered the craft, each leaving a US$10,000 deposit toward the $194,000 retail price.

The plane is expected to begin delivery in about 18 months. Then, according to the company’s Web site, owners will be able to “simply land at the airport, fold your wings up and drive home.”

For more information and videos of the craft flying, driving and transitioning from plane to car, see www.terrafugia.com.