• Dalmasian
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Am I Seeing Some Light at the End of the Thai Political Tunnel?
The majority of Thai people hate Thugs and Sinners, especially those whose names sound like Thugsin!
Permalink : http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/dalmasian
Friday , March 20 , 2009
The Roadable Plane or The Flying Car . . . You Decide
Posted by Dalmasian , Reader : 1077 , 01:32:53  
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Recession or No Recesion, a Flying Car from America Takes Off for the First Time

News Release:

http://www.terrafugia.com/newsreleases.html

Video Link:

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=12548906&ch=4226721&src=news

More Videos Links:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=Terrafugia+Transition&aq=f

For decades, mankind has suffered the indignity of commercial air travel. The long security lines. The middle seats. The surly flight attendants. It's enough to make a person say, "I'd rather drive my car." Well, the Terrafugia Transition hopes to do you one better. It wants to let you "fly" your own car.

The much talked about flying car is finally here. A Massachusetts company called Terrafugia Inc. has developed and manufactured a two-seater called the Transition. In 30 seconds, it can be transformed from an extremely ugly automobile into an honest-to-goodness airplane can fly at about 115 mph.

According to Terrafugia, the Transition's weight is under 850 pounds, thanks to its carbon fiber body, and that it'll get about 23 mpg from its 100 hp Rotax 912 S engine. Unlike something like the fabled Moller Skycar, however, this one won't do vertical take offs and landings, so you'll either need a really long driveway or access to a runway of some sort. Terrafugia says it already has fifty customers awaiting delivery of the vehicle, which the company is promising will happen in 2010.

After a recent test flight for reporters, queries on "terrafugia" and "flying car" both soared into the stratosphere. The Boston Herald chimed in with their thoughts on the future of the Transition, and notes that while the idea of owning a flying car is certainly appealing, the reality won't come cheap. Sticker price is a jaw-dropping $194,000. And, of course, drivers will need a pilot's license as well. Maybe sitting in 33C isn't so bad after all.

Recession or not, I am sure many spoiled rich yuppies in Bangkok will try to outdo each other to be the first to drive and fly one of these flying beetles when it finally becomes available for export.  What do you say?

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comment 12
Peace_Out date : 21/03/2009 time : 06.10

Hope they don't try to market in Thailand.
Enough crazies on the roads. Don't need em in the air too...............
comment 11
Hermano_Lobo date : 20/03/2009 time : 23.11
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/yurivelasquez


The Moller would then be like SuperCar from the TV series....

http://www.moller.com/
comment 10
Hermano_Lobo date : 20/03/2009 time : 23.08
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/yurivelasquez


I expect the Terrafugia to fly a bit like a brick.
Tricky little b*gger alaso.

The Moller is the best bet ?
comment 9
Hermano_Lobo date : 20/03/2009 time : 23.06
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/yurivelasquez


Then there is the Moller Skycar. Which could be a reality if they found some serious financial backing.
comment 8
Hermano_Lobo date : 20/03/2009 time : 23.01
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/yurivelasquez


Then their was the one in the James Bond film set in Thailand.
The man with the Golden Gun.

The AVE Mizar (named after the star), was built in 1971 by Henry Smolinski. The flying car was a true hybrid, with the front half modeled on a Ford Pinto and the back half consisting of a Cessna Skymaster plane. For taking off, the flying car used both the car engine and the aircraft engine, and the car engine was shut off once the car was airborne. AVE had scheduled production for 1974, but unfortunately, the year before, one of the models got in an accident during a test flight. The right wing detached and the Pinto was separated from the wings, resulting in a fiery crash that killed Smolinski and the pilot. The car was said to have been slightly over the weight limit during the trial, but the Mizar legend ended with the crash. http://www.fordpinto.com/mitzar1.htm
comment 7
Hermano_Lobo date : 20/03/2009 time : 22.59
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/yurivelasquez


It is a novelty, just like a previous attempt.

One of the most famous flying cars is Aerocar's Aerocar, built in 1946, which was called a "roadable aircraft." Designed by Moulton Taylor, the Aerocar had wings that folded up, allowing the car to be easily converted into flight mode by a single person in just five minutes. When the rear license plate was flipped up, the propeller shaft and a pusher propeller could be attached. When driving on the road, the wings and tail unit were simply towed behind the vehicle. As a car, the Aerocar could drive up to 60 miles per hour, and had a top airspeed of 110 miles per hour. http://www.aerocar.com/

It has to compete with dedicated flying machines !
comment 6
Plust3r date : 20/03/2009 time : 21.00
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/plust3r

It makes me remind of the car in Japanese comic book...

Well, at least we have the new innovation of cars and maybe one day, we might have the air motorcycle service in front of the street... sounds great, right? :D
comment 5
naive date : 20/03/2009 time : 09.40
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/naive
Narrow and wide by "Naive" point of view. ...................................*v*....................................................................For Thai reader visit http://www.oknation.net/blog/wickedgirl

Hmm it looks like a toy plane to me.
comment 4
Ian date : 20/03/2009 time : 08.41
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/anterian36

Well with easy snatch back Hire Purchase, a bought pilot's license, it should be simple enough to take to the air. As to take off and landing, well the obvious answer is to fit floats and use the canals.
comment 3
happyjack date : 20/03/2009 time : 08.22

To late mate Thailands had Flying Pickups for Years.Visit any Motor Salvage Yard to View one.Please dont sell them here,scrap would rain from the Heavens
comment 2
iceberg date : 20/03/2009 time : 05.36
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/ranchhand

The air traffic controller will really have a headache. Not wanting to add much weight to the flying machine, the navigation will have to communicate with the Control Tower using the personal cell phone. Imagine trying to dial the cell phone and piloting at the same time.
comment 1
sven date : 20/03/2009 time : 02.46
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/sven

Nice idea. But please:
* don't hit the Skytrain bridges when starting
* get the police to reserve you 500 m of free lane before landing
The second will be quite difficult to achieve, so I think those high-flying yuppies will run out of fuel and exterminate themselves

Isn't 2009 the Darwin Year?
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