Who would have thought that within a century the world of aeronautics would change as it has...
Starting with the Wright Brothers, the imagination behind Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter and numerous people in between, a company based out of Massachusetts named Terrafugia (ter-ra-FOO-gee-ah) has invented a flying car that is on its way to being mass produced (first customer delivery is expected in 2011) .
Let us examine well known events that have lead us to the creation of Terrafugia's new model.
Since the revolutionary invention of the airplane by the Wright Brothers in 1903, inventors and artists alike have found numerous opportunities to dream and idealize the future of the aviation world.
Pictured: Orville & Wilbur Wright test a prototype in the early 1900's
In 1968, director Ken Hughes introduced the world to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. This car had collapsible wings and a built-in flotation device. These features allowed the car to transform from a land vehicle, to a boat and then a car that could fly. This is my earliest memory of people flying. I can not remember when I first saw an airplane or understood that people traveled inside these objects in the sky. It was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang that introduced me to the field of aeronautics.
Pictured: The cast of the Pott Family in the 1960's
While the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car was revolutionary, years later J.K. Rowling planted the idea of flying motorcycles into the minds of adolescents worldwide through the magical world of Harry Potter in The Sorcerer's Stone. Rowling set the precedence for the novel through the imagery of Sirus Black’s flying motorcycle, which had the ability to accommodate a half-giant named Hagrid. A few novels later, J.K. Rowling stepped it up and created Mr. Weasley’s flying car (which, we must admit was probably still in the testing stage when Ron decided to take it for a spin).
Pictured: Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley in Mr. Weasley's flying car
One hundred and seven years later inventors are taking the Wright Brothers’ creation and bringing it to a whole new arena by producing an automobile that can fly. From Hollywood studios, to production sites around the world, the investors and inventors from the Terrafugia company will soon see the Transition® Roadable Aircraft on the roads and in the skies (as long as the prototypes and their improvements continue to pass through the hurdles cast in their way).
Terrafugia has produced a two-seater vehicle that transforms itself into an aircraft. The Transition® Roadable Aircraft has the tested capability to “...cruise at about 115 mph (185 kph) and cover about 400 miles (644 kilometers) worth of turf before needing a refill of regular unleaded gas” (Hadhazy).
Pictured: The Transition Roadable in flight
The makers state that this type of transportation will allow for people to avoid the long lines at airports, travel faster and have the ability to make trips more spontaneously.
For any individual that has roughly $200,000 they could be the next new owner of a Transition Roadable. For a small fee of $10,000 you can have one pre-ordered and on reserve for when production begins. With no flight experience necessary and only 20 hours of practice flying time you’d be able to use the Transition in the sky. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) has given the model the green flag. Now the FTA (Federal Transit Administration) must approve the car for road driving.
Pictured: The Transition Roadable being test driven on the road
One hundred years ago, as a society we lifted off the ground in personal aircraft's. We then invented the ability to land airplanes on the surface of bodies of water and propel our way to land. And now, in year 2010 automobiles can transform into airplanes, fly, touch down and transform back into a road automobile.
Unfortunately, this is where my imagination ceases. What could be next for the world of aviation advancements? What more could a person want? How much more room is there for advancement? The once deemed impossible, has become possible. In films and novels where flying cars ruled the streets and the sky, it is becoming a reality, sorry science fiction, you’ve been debunked. Magic, yes. Harry Potter’s world has done it again, you can now take a ride outside the Orlando theme park and try riding in a flying car (just like Mr. Weasley’s).
Our future lies in the sky.
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