Thursday, March 26, 2009

The Terrafugia Transition, a roadable aircraft

The Transition is a roadable aircraft under development by Terrafugia, a start-up company based in Woburn, Massachusetts.

The Rotax 912S piston engine powered, carbon-fiber vehicle is planned to have a flight range of 400 nmi (460 mi; 740 km) using automotive grade unleaded gasoline and a cruising flight speed of 115 mph (185 km/h; 100 kn).

On the highway, it can drive up to 80 mph (130 km/h) to keep up with traffic. The Transition prototype's folded dimensions of 6 ft 9 in (2.1 m) high, 6 ft 8 in (2.0 m) wide and 18 ft 9 in (5.7 m) long are designed to fit within a standard household garage. Wikipedia

Features:

Crew: 1 pilot
Capacity: 2, pilot and passenger
Payload: 430 lb (200 kg) ()
Length: 19.1667 ft (5.8420 m) ()
Wingspan: 27.5 ft (8.4 m) ()
Height: 6.75 ft (2.06 m) ()
Useful load: 430 lb (200 kg) ()
Powerplant: 1× Rotax 912S, 100 hp (75 kW) @ 5800 rpm (max. 5 minutes), 95 hp (71 kW) @ 5500 rpm (continuous) ()
Propellers: Four-bladed propeller, 1 per engine
Cockpit width: 51 in (1.3 m) at the shoulder
Fuel capacity: 20 US gal (76 L; 17 imp gal)
Length on road: 18.75 ft (5.72 m) with elevator up
Width on road: 80 in (2.0 m) with wings folded
Front wheel drive on road