US company Terrafugia, the developer of the Transition flying car, this week announced its new vision for “the future of personal transportation”.

Building on its experience with the Transition programme – with production of this car/plane “on the horizon” – Terrafugia said it had begun feasibility studies of a four-seat, vertical takeoff and landing plug-in hybrid-electric flying car, the TF-X. 

Incorporating fly-by-wire controls and currently available technology, the TF-X “will further increase the level of safety, simplicity, and convenience of personal aviation”, promised Terrafugia in a statement released on Monday.
    
“This is the right time for us to begin thinking about the future of the company beyond Transition development,” said Terrafugia CEO Carl Dietrich. “We are passionate about continuing to lead the creation of a flying car industry and are dedicating resources to lay the foundations for our vision of personal transportation.”  

Terrafugia noted that its design team was looking forward to the development activities around TF-X, especially as the Transition programme shifts from research and development to certification, production and, ultimately, customer support activities.  

The Transition served as a proof of process for TF-X development and commercialisation, through the technical, regulatory and usage challenges it had already overcome.

By directly addressing congestion and other transportation challenges currently being faced internationally, widespread adoption of vehicles like the Transition and TF-X could result in significant economic benefits and personal time saving, stated the company.

“Preliminary conversations with the [US] Federal Aviation Administration about the TF-X concept have demonstrated their willingness to consider innovative technologies and regulatory solutions that are in the public interest and enhance the level of safety of personal aviation.”

“TF-X is an opportunity to provide the world with a new dimension of personal freedom,” added Dietrich.

Terrafugia (pronounced terra-FOO-gee-ah) is Latin for “escape the earth.”  Terrafugia was founded by five pilots who graduated from the well-known Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the US.

In 2012, the company’s Transition order backlog already surpassed the 100 customer mark and represented flying cars worth around $30-million. 

When driving, the Transition’s wings fold up, and when the driver wants to take to the sky, the wings can unfold in under 30 seconds.

In driving mode, the vehicle is 2 m high, 2.3 m wide, and 6 m long. When flying, only the width changes as the wings unfold, expanding to 8 m.