Where's My Damn Flying Car?: An Update

Katherine Mangu-Ward | September 7, 2006

Flying cars, available in 2009. Terrafugia, Inc., an MIT-born firm, has released a flight simulator for their model, the Transition. They're calling it a "roadable aircraft" because of niggling little details like the fact that you need a pilot's license to operate the vehicle. But it's a flying car. You can drive it to the airport, unfold the wings, and take off.

You can try the simulator, see a 1/5 scale model, and put down your deposit of $7,400 (5 percent of the $148,000 purchase price) now. It's not the Jetsons yet, and it can't take off from the back yard or land at the office, which is the real goal. But the price is (relatively speaking) reasonable, thanks to cheaper, lighter, stronger construction materials and new engine technologies. It's a start, anyway.

Said Anna Mracek, COO of Terrafugia:

"A few of the older gentlemen I talked to told me that they had been waiting for something like this their whole lives and were so excited that we were making it real while they were still able to fly it."

Amen, brothers.