Flyin' Car

More of plane that can drive than a car that can fly, but still, better than nothing:

A small, lightweight airplane the size of an SUV could bring into reality those personal transports we've been waiting for.

Carl Dietrich, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology doctoral candidate in aeronautics and astronautics, is building such a vehicle and calling it the Transition.

The Transition's 27-foot wingspan can be collapsed, allowing the plane to be stored in most garages. It's designed to be 18.75 feet long and 6.75 feet high, and drivable on any road.

That gives the pilot the flexibility to land at any number of the 5,000 public-access airports around the country and finish the trip by highway.

In the air, the Transition would get about 30 miles per gallon and on the road, around 40. The aircraft "can travel at normal highway speeds," Dietrich said.

posted by Ace at 12:58 PM

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