Flying Car Lifts Off
On March 5, at Plattsburgh International Airport in upstate New York, a “roadable aircraft” called Transition took flight for the first time. The flight lasted just 37 seconds (see video below), and according to the pilot, Phil Meteer, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, it was merely a brief, wheels-up test along the runway. Transition made six more test flights between March 5 and 7. The flights were approved by the Federal Aviation Agency, which inspected Transition prior to takeoff.
The weird-looking vehicle was developed by a startup based in Woburn, MA, called Terrafugia, which confirmed the test flight in a press conference at the Boston Museum of Science held this morning. The “aero-auto hybrid,” as the company calls it, was also temporarily on display in the museum’s main hall.
The aircraft is designed to be driven on public roads: its wings fold up in 30 seconds, and it operates in front-wheel drive and uses 27 miles per gallon. Transition also fits in a standard garage. In the air, it can reach speeds of 115 miles per hour on flights of 450 miles or less at 30 miles per gallon.
But sadly for budding flying-car pilots, it will not hit the market for at least two years, and even then it’ll cost around $194,000.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.
And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.
OpenAI teases an amazing new generative video model called Sora
The firm is sharing Sora with a small group of safety testers but the rest of us will have to wait to learn more.
Google’s Gemini is now in everything. Here’s how you can try it out.
Gmail, Docs, and more will now come with Gemini baked in. But Europeans will have to wait before they can download the app.
This baby with a head camera helped teach an AI how kids learn language
A neural network trained on the experiences of a single young child managed to learn one of the core components of language: how to match words to the objects they represent.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.