Why can't my BY TOM LeCOMPTE

airplane be more Since the dawn of aviation, the idea of a "roadable" aircraft, or , has captivated the imagination-intriguing futurists, inspiring like my car- dreamers, and spawning a multitude of whimsical and fictional cre• ations-from Chitty Chitty Bang Bangto Blade Runnerto The jetsans. or vice versa? Beyond science fiction, the challenge of producing a real "dual use" ve• hicle has been more elusive, frustrating inventors and entrepreneurs over the years. Of nearly 100 published concepts, only a few have ever been built, fewer still ever flown, and not one put into production. Among those who tried and failed was , the Wright broth• ers' chief rival, whose ''Autoplane'' was first unveiled at the Pan-American Aeronautic Exposition in New York in February 1917, and patented in 1919, but never took more than a few short hops. The first flying car that really flew was 's ''Arrowbile,'' flown in 1937, but never brought to market. Robert Fulton's ''Airphibian,'' built in 1945, was the first dual-use vehicle to be certified by the government for production but, de• spite its technical success, it was abandoned when Fulton failed to find a reliable financial backer. Following Fulton, the most successful to date was the '','' built by in 1949, certified by the FAAin 1956, considered by Ford Motor Co. in 1970, but never mass-

IllUSTRATION BY JOHN MACNEill AOPA PILOT· 73 . JANUARY 2007 produced (see "Baby, You Can Fly My Car," page 76). Still, the dream endures.

Enter MIT The latest entry is 's "Transi• tion," the brainchild of a group offresh• faced Massachusetts Institute of Tech• nology grad students. Carl Dietrich, Terrafugia chief executive officer and a doctoral candidate in aeronautics, who ._-a,."'_I.; __ with partner Samuel Schweighart, also an MIT Ph.D., came up with the idea, which is several years from becoming a reality, admits that the track record for such vehicles is not good. For one thing, the compromises needed to make a vehicle that is both airworthy and roadworthy have resulted in vehi• cles that are both bad airplanes and /.c. /' / lousy cars. Additionally, even if a vehi• / / cle that is technically feasible can be / designed, the chal• / "We lenge remains to / //1 prove that it is fi• / looked at nancially viable. / . the lessons "Molt Taylor came I. \ the closest," Diet• I / ~. 'of the past rich says, but he i y -----7----- \ \ gave up after col• , \ , >~\and lecting 278 de• /' Is setthe forpushhlgh~ayof a{button,use. Itthefltslnt~Transition'sa !!tandard_g!l,rjl~e.27-fo ot. Win..gSpanf.""olds a~d_ t.he craft .-.,learned IAt posits. "So we're re• that the ally in unknown most territory." Rounding out successful the Terrafugia team were are Anna Mracek, Alex Min, and Arun roadable Prakash, all MIT aircraft , grad students as well as pilots, and not flying Milo Mracek, most cars. " recently with Mc• Donnell Douglas before joining Terrafugia. Before beginning the design pro• cess, Dietrich and company studied numbers, lots of numbers. Among the data looked at were statistics showing that Americans take 370 million trips per year between 100 and 500 miles (with a median average being 368 miles). Because most of these trips are such that commercial airline service is not practical and they are to locations that trains and mass transit generally don't serve, 94 percent of them are made in cars. Indeed, a recent USA Today survey revealed that airlines have cut back on short-haul flights under 400 miles by 25 percent. Al• though very light jets (VLJs)and associ• ated air-taxi services aim to serve busi• ness fliers traveling between 250 and

AOPA PILOT' 74. JANUARY 2007 600 miles, Terrafugia sees the Transi• tion as filling the need of those looking to travel between 100 and about 450 Almost famous miles-a distance that most current light aircraft could be marketed as eyond the design challenges, Such outreach has gone a long serving. the biggest hurdle facing the way to giving Terrafugia a level of le• Yet, general aviation is not seen by Transition is gaining credibility. gitimacy, but there is bound to be the public as an attractive alternative. "There have been so many of these some Skepticism. "The price isn't Even private pilots don't fly as often as things that we know we have to over• bad," says Gerald Bernstein, avia• they could. A 2002 survey by MIT Pro• come a perception problem," Dietrich tion analyst at San Francisco-based fessor of Aeronautics R. John Hansman says. At every step, the group has Velocity Group, "but it's got to ap• (an advisor to the group) and Raytheon worked methodically to distance it• peal to a very, very niche market." Senior Engineer Troy Downen identi• self from the legacy of wacky aero• Most pilots, explains Bernstein, fied four main obstacles to more wide• nautical novelties. If the Transition is would be reluctant to plunk down spread use of general aviation. To many to succeed, Dietrich explains, it that kind of money on a new and pilots, the reasons are familiar enough: needs to be an aircraft in which unproven technology, particularly weather, expense, mob.ility at the desti• "practicality rules over coolness." with a small, unknown company nation, and the time required to go To this end, the Terrafugia team has behind it. from doorstep to destination. As a reached out to regulators, aviation ex• The key, according to Bruce result, too many small airplanes sit perts, and pilots to get a variety of in• Chadbourne, a professor at Embry• tied down, turning into expensive sights and opinions on the Transition. Riddle Aeronautical University in ramp ornaments. I Meetings with the Highway Adminis- Florida who specializes in general I tration and the FAA were encouraging, aviation marketing, is how utilitarian The design I says Dietrich. The FAA, in particular, the vehicle will be. Being a light Proving to themselves that there was a was intrigued by the Transition for rea• sport aircraft, it will have certain potential market for a roadable aircraft, i sons of safety: By giving pilots the aI• legal restrictions-VFR only, under the Terrafugia team set about design• I ternative of landing and driving around 10,000 feet msl, special endorse• ing its vehicle. Rather than reach for bad weather, the Transition could re- ments for flying in controlled air• some pie-in-the-sky vision of putting space-that limit its usefulness. On the ground, it also will have to prove "an airplane in every garage," the group II AirVentureduce incidents2006ofVFRin Oshkosh,into IFR.moreAt EAA strove to make the Transition simple • and practical, settling on a more-or• I Th as \'101'_{e less conventional aircraft design and relying on available technology and to Lse ,1, ••.••.f fr~r'"'-' I construction techniques. "We looked at the lessons of the louticC' past and learned that the most suc• cessful were roadable aircraft, not fly• than 5,000 visitors stopped by the itself as to how stable it is on the ing cars," Dietrich says. The most im• Terrafugia booth, including famed air• highway, say, when a tractor-trailer portant decision came by way of the craft designer Burt Rutan and FAA passes, and how durable it is on pot• FM, which two years ago finalized the Administrator Marion Blakey. The fact holed city streets. new light sport aircraft and sport pilot that Cessna unveiled its potential "There are a lot of people who classifications. Fitting the Transition entry into the light sport aircraft field will put down that kind of money just within LSA limits 0,320 pounds and a at Oshkosh gave Dietrich and his col• to have the latest toy," Chadbourne maximum airspeed in level flight of leagues affirmation that their decision says. "But that is only a very small 120 knots) will streamline the devel• to go the LSA route was correct. part of the market. To succeed, it will have to be more than simply a opment and certification process, Di• I' A number of Terrafugia-hosted etrich says. This, along with sport pilot events for pilots have generated 'neat' thing." certification (no medical required, much interest and a few tough ques• Undaunted, Terrafugia has begun and half the training time required tions. "One pilot who flies in New taking refundable $7,400 deposits compared to a private pilot certifi• England asked if the wheel pants (5 percent of the anticipated pur• cate), will make the Transition more would be removable for winter flying," chase price) to secure positions. The accessible to pilots and thus widen its Dietrich says. "It was something we deposits, held in escrow, will not go potential customer base. hadn't thought of." Others have toward the estimated $10 million to However, making an aircraft that is asked how engine time will be calcu• get the first Transition prototype off tough enough for highway use and lated between in-flight time and on• the ground, but will go a long way in weighs 1,320 pounds or less "is going to road time when figuring time be• giving the Transition the legitimacy be hard," admits Dietrich. The Federal tween overhauls. That, Dietrich says, it needs to convince investors the Highway Administration will require is yet to be determined, along with company is worth the risk. that the Transition, like all cars, have air a number of other issues, such as If everything goes well, the first bags and 2.5-mph crash-resistant exactly how one will insure his or prototype could be airborne by 2009. bumpers and meet all other Depart- her Transition. -TL Continued on page 77

AOPA PILOT' 75· JANUARY 2007 The "Aerocar" was developed by Molt Taylor. N102D was the last model built, in 1960.

wings powered by a Studebaker car en• gine. First flown in February 1937, the Arrowbile's only fl ight control device was a control wheel yoke that was suspended in front of the pilot from the cabin ceil• ing. Fore-and-aft movement of the (father of novelist Gore Vidal) offered I p't's a quest as old as aviation itself: yoke provided pitch control, and turn• government grants to manufacturers ing the wheel provided coordinated di• iLto build an airplane that the I average person can both fly and drive. of a "poor man's airplane." He rectional control. Brakes and a foot-op• Many have tried. No one has succeed• promised a two- or three-seat, all• erated starter button were on the floor. ed. Still, the idea endures. metal machine costing $700, about But at an estimated price of $3,000, In 1918, the first patent for a flying the price of a Pontiac automobile and the Arrowbile was way more than the car was issued to a Felix Longobardi. $300 to $500 less than any airplane $700 target. Five Arrowbiles were Longobardi's design was for a vehicle then on the market. Vidal's plan drew built, but Waterman was never able to that would convert from a car to an angry criticism. Manufacturers of put it into production. aircraft to a boat. It was never built. small planes described it as an "all In 1950, Robert Fulton's "Airphib• The following year, pioneer aviator mental" airplane, an unrealistic ian" became the first dual-use vehicle Glenn Curtiss received a patent for his fantasy that would only destroy the certified by the government. Fulton's "Autoplane." The triplane, built and ex• sales of existing aircraft. two-seat prototype consisted of two hibited at the Pan-American Aeronau• inventor Waldo Water• basic components: a small four-wheel tic Exposition in New York City's Grand man took Vidal up on his offer. In vehicle and a separate wing and tail Central Palace, had a 40-foot 1936, he showed off the" Arrowbile," assembly. Once on the ground, the pas• wingspan. The vehicle was aluminum• a tailless airplane with detachable senger compartment could simply be bodied and had twin-boom tails, along with small canard wings on the front of . the car. The motor under a car hood I used a shaft and belts to drive a four• blade prop at the rear of the cab. It never flew more than a few short hops. In 1926, automotive pioneer Henry Ford unveiled the "sky flivver," a tiny 35O-pound, single-seat monoplane. Al• though not technically a "dual use" ve• hicle, the prototype aspired to fulfill Ford's dream of building "everyman's" airplane. Three different versions of

friend and pilot Harry Brooks was Ithekilledcraftin awerecrashflown,of onebutin after1928,Ford'sFord I withdrew the project. Still, he pro- fessed faith in the concept, saying, "Mark my word. A combination air• plane and motor car is coming. You may smile. But it will come." In 1933, the U.S. government got involved in promoting the concept when aviation enthusiast and Bureau lLof~ir_ c~mmerce ~~~f Eugene Vidal

AOPA PILOT· 76 . JANUARY 2007 detached from the wings and tail and phibian, the Aerocar had a detachable then driven away. Early promotional wings and tail section. Five were built brochures and newsreels showed a and flown (TV celebrity Bob Cummings woman in a white dress and heels de• bought one) but, like Fulton, Taylor taching and rolling away the tail and could not get the financial backing to wing, or reattaching the propeller with put his vehicle into production. a few twists of a built-in wrench. There have been many just as ambi• Powered by a 150-horsepower, six• tious but less successful experimental cylinder engine, the Airphibian drove at hybrids. Watch the Transition-in this 50 mph and flew at 120 mph. It took In the 1950s and 1960s, Leland animation from Terrafugia-take off in 800 feet. The same controls Bryan produced a series of highway• off, fly, land, and fit snugly into could be used for flying and driving, certified folding-wing "roadables" that its neighborhood garage and see more historic with the wheel used for steering on the used their pusher propellers for both air photographs of other flying cars ground and in the air, and the foot ped• and road power. The project ended on AOPA Pilot Online als converting from airplane rudder when Bryan died in the crash of one in www.aopa.orgjpilotjflyingcar. pedals to automobile clutch and brake 1974. And in 1973, Henry Smolinski pedals. Connecting and disconnecting fastened the wings, tail, and aft engine Colltinued from page 75 control cables when converting from of a twin-engine Cessna Skymaster to ment of Transportation standards (such flying to driving were cleverly accom• one ill-fated Ford Pinto. The wing as headlights, taillights, emissions, and plished through a series of intercon• struts collapsed on its first test flight, rearview mirrors). "We're going to have necting push rods that would mate killing Smolinski and the pilOt. to destroy five of these things before it when the two components were linked. Currently, in addition to the Transi• ever gets certified," Dietrich says. All the instruments and electrical ele• tion, there are more than 30 concepts After 50 different design iterations ments automatically engaged and syn• for dual-use vehic les-from the" Aero• on the vehicle's shape, including two chronized when the flight and road Cycle," a combination motorcycle and wind-tunnel models, the result is a units were locked together. The engine aircraft (www.wolffaerocycle.com).to small two-place aircraft with a twin tail, would not start unless the units were the LaBiche Aerospace FSC-l, a dual• pusher propeller, and folding wings. properly secured. Fulton logged more use high-performance aircraft and Built of a combination of composite than 100,000 miles in the Airphibian, sports car that promises speeds of materials and aluminum, the Transi• but had to quit the project when his 290 mph in the air and 180 mph on the tion, configured for flight, will have a financial backer dropped out. ground (www.labicheaerospace.com), 27-foot wingspan, 830-pound empty Following the Airphibian, the most to the "Skycar," a vertical takeoff and weight, and 48-inch-wide cabin. successful roadable aircraft was the landing vehicle that uses "powered Powered by a 100-horsepower en• "Aerocar." Built in 1949 by Molt Tay• lift," the same technology used by the gine burning 4 gallons per hour (either lor, who credited his inspiration to hav• military's vertical takeoff and landing avgas or autogas). it will fly about 500 ing met Fulton and having seen his Air- Harrier" Jump Jet" (www.moller.comj miles carrying a projected payload of skycar). In 2004, Boeing revealed its 430 pounds at 120 mph up to 10,000 own as-yet-unnamed concept, a dual• feet with a fuel capacity of20 gallons. rotor-powered vehicle. For a complete Converting at the push of a button, listing, go online (www.roadable the vehicle, wings folded, will be set for times.com). highway use and, at the end of the day, A large part of the enduring appeal fit into a standard garage. The target of roadable aircraft, according to Bruce price for true door-to-door transporta• Chadbourne, professor of general avia• tion: $148,000. tion marketing at Embry-Riddle Aero• "We tried to hammer out and pick nautical University, is the technical the compromises that will affect pilots challenge of combining "two funda• in the least annoying way," Dietrich mentally incompatible" modes of trans• says. For example, to make the vehicle portation. That is, the challenge of de• more stable on the road, the Transi• signing a practical vehicle that is light tion's center of gravity needs to be more enough to fly and stable both in the air rearward than would be ideal for flight. Molt Taylor with his first "Aerocar," and on the ground; that can fit into the This means a longer takeoff roll (about built in 1949 (far left). The "Mizar" dimensions needed to travel along 1,500 feet) and, once at rotation speed was developed by Henry Smolinski at roads; that can combine two control (70 mph), more of a launch than a lift• Advanced Vehicle Engineers of Van systems; and that is useful. The techni• ing into the sky. Or, as Dietrich ex• Nuys, California. Its design was a Ford cal challenges can be overcome. A big• plains, "it will be a much more exciting Pinto mated to the airframe of a ger challenge is finding a market for takeoff." /JaIA Cessna Skymaster. such a vehicle. Even if you could put "an airplane in every garage," the fact Tom LeCompte is an editor and jour• remains that, well, Americans love nalist living in Western Massachusetts. their cars. -TL He is a private pilot with more than 850 ------flight hours.

AOPA PILOT' 77 •IANUARY 2007