Terrafugia - Transition®, the Roadable Light Sport Aircraft : Home

I'm looking at this LSA and just see all kinds of problems with it being in the air after being driven on the road for any length of time. Anyone that thinks you'll be able to drive it right onto the runway after bumper to bumper traffic on the 405 is dreaming. The maintenance issues are going to be a headache. Annual inspection? Really? And look at the driver's blind spots with the wings folded up. That spoiler/bumper in the front is just asking for it.

 

So, if you don't run into anything, what problems? Yes, it probably has blind spots, but apparently meets whatever road worthy rules there are.

 

I don't imagine that it would up well as a daily beater in SOCAL traffic...but that's not what it's for. I think the idea is that you can drive it to the airport, fly to your destination, and then not have to rent a car.

Fundamentally nothing wrong with this idea...you simply have to be willing to give up some performance in both modes in exchange for flexibility. If you want performance and capacity for a family of five, buy a light twin and rent an Expedition when you get there.

 

At which point you probably wouldn't need to worry about a dual purpose vehicle. If you can afford to feed a twin, you can afford to rent the Expedition, and take the vacation.


Edit: I have serious doubts as to the stability/flying qualties of this thing. Just look at the flying surfaces in the video's. They all seem to be at an extream nose pitch up deflection. And if you notice, all the videos of this thing only show it in short hops, no videos of it in actual flight. It leads me to belive me it either A: Fly's like crap or B: doesn't have the power to get far enough away from the airport to be safe in flight. You woulden't catch me dead in that thing.

 

Also, what about a significant crosswind? I'd hate to have 2 wheels on one side touch down before the other side's...

And just remember, these are going to be mainly SPORT pilots with as little as 20 hours...(Not saying that all sport pilots will be/are bad)

One more thing, how are they going to get around the 2 seat rule for LSA's??

 

It did get some kind of exemption from FAA, I think for weight.

 

The fiance thought it was pretty cool. I had to convince her that in heory its cool but if you go the website and look at the numbers, why would i spend 200k on something with a useful load of 480lbs (dont quote me here just remember it was less then 5). The FAA granted a weight waiver for the takeoff weight for the LSA cert i do believe.

Either way its something new and it shows that there are folks out there trying to advance and broaden the GA world

 

Whats to get around? It only has two seats.

 

As far as the operational safety, stability, reliability, maintainability, performance, and other aspects of bringing an LSA to market I have faith our FAA will make sure the Terrafugia meets all criteria for approval. It is a novel concept for a roadable airplane. MIT is one of the top aero-science research institutions- smart people, well-qualified. I have some thoughts about the Terrafugia though having gone through their website a little bit.

• The TF looks susceptible to wind drift operating in surface mode on windy streets or highways. The folded wings act like sailplanes extending the moment arm above the CG. What testing has been done for this? There would have to be a speed limitation if it can't be kept straight at highway speeds.
• A lot of electromechanical systems means a lot of opportunity for corrosion, misalignment of parts, wiring gaffs, early part failure and so on. In such as light vehicle this would have to be a pretty high risk to reliability. I do not think the type of people who will be flying them will be able to evaluate the risk to reliability in the field. This is exactly the kind of thing that you can't predict in a new design, the end-user operating environment. Perhaps a controlled experimental user group should be checked for a while to make sure the TF remains airworthy in the user environment since it has more complex systems than a typical LSA (or car).
• This TF isn't cheap at $200k and may balloon north of $300k by the time it reaches certification. You could buy two Skycatchers and have enough left for a couple of pickup trucks for that much. What is the predicted market segment for such a high priced, narrow mission-profile vehicle? Curious business model. You need to sell a certain number of units to ensure viability over time. LSAs were an attempt to reduce cost for low-end aviation buyers while this airplane drastically increases it. This may have ramifications to safety in the long run, particularly if not enough units are sold to fund a steady supply of parts, maintenance personnel and support structure.
• This vehicle obviously would do very poorly in NHTSA crash testing. The phrase "death trap" comes to mind. It has no real bumpers, airbags, anti-skid, interior padding, etc. It is made of aluminum (I think) which has poor energy absorption capability in a crash. Worse the proto has protrusions in the cockpit. At the very least it needs a lot of improvement to be considered safe as road vehicle. Even if the NHTSA grants a crashworthiness exemption for the TF, would you really want to be driving a car that can't pass an NHTSA crash test? Motorcycles have a high fatality rate and the TF will be on par with motorcycles as far as road safety.
• The Terrafugia website has almost humorous lack of specifications and data. They are withholding info until things pan out in the manufacturing, supply, design, and certification departments I guess, but the website is woefully inadequate. What are the details of the power transmission systems, flight control systems, folding mechanisms, ballistic parachute system, fuel system, where they are going to source the parts, how does it handles in air work, where is the Pilots Operating Handbook...? Who is going to perform maintenance on Terrafugias and where will the parts come from? I have difficulty taking it seriously until some of these things are answered.

It's a nice proof-of-concept vehicle at this point, a promising work in progress.

 

Terrafugia Unveals New Prototype Design.

(Avweb, M. Grady, 7/25/10) A scale model of the next version of the Terrafugia Transition roadable aircraft was unveiled Monday morning at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, and it differs considerably from the current proof-of-concept vehicle. The canard is gone, giving the front view a cleaner aerodynamic profile, and the airfoil of the wing is changed. "Our team is back in Woburn, Mass., right now working on building this airplane," said CEO Carl Dietrich. The new version will start test flights early next year, Dietrich said. EAA President Tom Poberezny joined the news conference to announce that the airplane will fly at AirVenture 2011 for its public debut, first stopping at several cities along the way. The prototype will be powered by a Rotax 100-hp 912S engine with a pusher prop. Specifics on the avionics were not announced but Dietrich said the cockpit will have a "touch-screen interface." Performance goals are cruise speed in flight of about 90 knots, and a fuel burn of 5 gph. "With a full-aircraft parachute and the ability to drive in bad weather, this should be a very safe LSA," Dietrich said. The company is re-evaluating the price point on the aircraft now, Dietrich said. They were looking at a figure of $194,000 but a new price will be announced at a later date. He said the company has 80 orders for the airplane. More images and details can be found on the company's Web site.