The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) just gave its approval for Terrafugia to hold test flights for its concept flying car. Terrafugia, a company established by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) aerospace engineers, will test an unmanned version of the vehicle.
Techninsider reports that Terrafugia would shrink the size of the test vehicle to only one-tenth of its original model.
Called the TF-X, the planned flying vehicle looks like a mechanical penguin without the flightless part. It is shaped like a bullet and has a black-and-white color scheme. Slate reports that the vehicle features side panels that open.
It does not need a runway since the vehicle uses twin rotors, similar to helicopters, found at the tip of the car's wings to lift the vehicle to the skies. After the vehicle is airborne, 300-horsepower electric engines and electric motor power the car. At this point, the rotors fold back and a ducted fan pushes the TF-X on air at a cruising speed of 200 mph and a range of 500 miles.
Terrafugia's website describes the TF-X as a semi-autonomous four-seat hybrid electric flying car that has vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. The firm's vision is for the flying car to "bring a new level of freedom to the personal transit experience," but its release would likely happen only after several years.
It must first achieve sustained, stabilized hovering with smaller models before Terrafugia develop a full-size prototype. The FAA permit would allow flight test at an altitude of 400 feet and speed below 10 mph.