Unidentified Flying Object?

[Avi]

Imagine loads of these babies seen in the skies! :O

Flying Car a Step Closer to Reality
by Mike Krumboltz

4 hours ago
248 Votes

Weird-looking cars are a dime a dozen. Far less common are weird-looking cars that can also fly AND have approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. Indeed, as far as we know, there's only one of those babies: The Terrafugia Transition.

The private aircraft/funky-looking car has been in the news before. But the recent announcement that it's going into production sparked mega-searches on the Web. Almost immediately, online lookups for "terrafugia transition" and "terrafugia transition pictures" both, well, took off.

A popular article from the UK's Daily Telegraph explains that the FAA's special exemption allows the vehicle to function as both a "light aircraft" and a car. Normally, for a plane to meet the "light aircraft" designation, it can weigh no more than 1,200 pounds. The Terrafugia Transition weighs 1,320, due primarily to the number of car-related safety features, like airbags and crumple zones. The "light aircraft" designation is key, because licenses for planes with that label require only 20 hours of flying time. Fewer hoops to jump through means more potential sales.

So, how does the plane/car work? Check out the flying car's official video below. So far, 70 people have placed a deposit. The total retail cost: $194,000. Expensive, but really, can you put a price on skipping commercial flights?

pretty cool! video demonstration here:

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/93804?fp=1

 

[Palinurus]

UPDATE: According to wikipedia the Terrafugia Transition still needs some more time before it can be delivered to customers. (NOTE: the yahoo link is dead).

Now for the current situation in the Netherlands.

Source: https://nltimes.nl/2018/02/14/flying-cars-dutch-firm-unveils-eu499k-production-model

The flying cars are here! Dutch firm unveils €499K production model

By Janene Pieters on February 14, 2018 - 12:00

PAL-V flying car. Photo: PAL-V / Facebook

Dutch company PAL-V is premiering the production model of its flying car - the Liberty - at the car exhibition in Geneva early in March. The Liberty can seat two people and costs between 300,000 and 400,000 euros. "We are sold out until 2020", CEO Robert Dingemanse said to the Telegraaf (in Dutch).

"At the end of this year, we expect to have completed the European certification of EASA in Cologne within the existing regulations", Dingemanse said. According to him, the Liberty is a combination of a sport plane and a road vehicle. "In addition to his driver's license, the driver must also have a license to fly a gyrocopter. Because that's what our Liberty is in the air. After about 35 lessons, you can get it anywhere."

The Liberty has two engines to drive the rotor and push propellor. According to Dingemanse, you only need 150 meters of grass track or asphalt to take off. "There are dozens of them in the Netherlands", he said to the newspaper. "Landing can happen nearly vertically. Within five minutes, rotor and prop are folded in, after which he can ride on the public road as a normal car."

PAL-V, which stands for Personal Air and Land Vehicle, already received hundreds of orders for their Liberty. "Next year we will deliver the first ten devices to Dutch customers."