Cessna 172 N3286E - Over South Miami Beach

Flying Car Succeeds in Test Flight

Terrafugia's Transition, an airplane that can drive on the highway, takes off for the first time

By Gregory Mone Posted 03.19.2009 at 1:48 pm 8 Comments

Terrafugia Transition www.Terrafugia.com

Terrafugia's prototype roadable aircraft - or flying car - recently completed its first successful flight after six months of road and runway testing. The company announced the flight of the Transition, an aircraft with foldable wings that can drive at highway speeds and fit into the average garage, at Boston's Museum of Science yesterday, calling the feat a historic milestone in aviation. "This breakthrough changes the world of personal mobility," says Terrafugia CEO Carl Dietrich. "It's what aviation enthusiasts have been striving for since 1918."
We featured the company's efforts to build the vehicle, and create a viable flying car business, in the October issue, and this long-rumored first test flight is a critical step. Test pilot Phil Meteer called the maiden voyage "remarkably unremarkable" - and the very cautious team kept it safe, as Meteer stayed relatively close to the runway, remaining aloft for a total of 37 seconds. Though brief, the test flight should help to convince the many skeptics who've been promised this sort of vehicle for decades that it is, at least, possible. Whether this translates into deposits for the fledgling company is another question, though. Terrafugia has proven that the Transition can drive on the road - see footage here - and take to the air. But will these tests be enough to encourage new buyers? Terrafugia hopes to deliver the first vehicles to customers - 40 buyers have put down refundable deposits thus far - by 2011.

Fake pilot arrested moments before take-off

A pilot has been arrested at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport for flying passenger planes for 13 years with a false licence.
The 41-year-old Swede was in the cockpit of a Corendon Airlines Boeing 737 about to take off for Ankara with 101 passengers on board when the Dutch police arrested him after a tip from the Swedish authorities.
The Turkish low-budget airline was informed in advance and had a second pilot lined up to take over the flight.
The fake pilot says he has been flying for 13 years on a false licence and had spent at least 10,000 hours flying hours in the cockpit. He had worked for airlines in Belgium, Great Britain and Italy. Once arrested, he appeared relieved that his deception had come to light and immediately removed his stripes.
The man did have a pilot's licence, but it was not valid for passenger aircraft, so he had falsified it.
A lawyer for Corendon Airlines says the fake pilot had worked for the budget airline company for the last two years and had “expertly misled the company with his false papers”. At other airlines he had managed to pass tests with flying colours.
The lawyer called it pure luck that he had never flown alone and said the fake pilot will never pilot a Corendon Airlines flight again.

Boeing 737 cockpit

Aerospace-techno

F-35 Short / Slow Landing Demo