Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

It's Not a Flying Car - It's a Drivable Airplane

Posted by timothy on from the transcend-potholes dept.

waderoush writes "Aviation enthusiasts have been dreaming of flying cars since the 1940s. But in an old machine shop in Woburn, MA, a team of MIT aero/astro grads is building what could be the first practical airplane that's also certified for highway driving. Angel-funded startup Terrafugia, headed by 2006 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize winner Carl Dietrich, hopes to have its first full-scale proof-of-concept vehicle ready to show off at July's AirVenture aviation festival in Oshkosh, Wisconsin."

15 of 243 comments (clear)

  1. what would you do... by techpawn · · Score: 3, Funny

    for the flying car
    And I thought I knew you man...

    --
    Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country did to you
  2. Great. Now where will I get the gas? by elrous0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Please God, tell me it's a hybrid!

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:Great. Now where will I get the gas? by ZeroExistenZ · · Score: 5, Funny

      Please God, tell me it's a hybrid!

      It is. Half car, half plane. A hybrid.

      --
      I think we can keep recursing like this until someone returns 1
  3. Good thing it can fly by Skyshadow · · Score: 4, Funny

    That whole ability-to-fly thing will come in handy when the first gust of wind you encounter blows you off a bridge.

    A very light car with a huge side profile = the ditch.

    --
    Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
  4. wrong department by SuperBanana · · Score: 5, Funny

    hopes to have its first full-scale proof-of-concept vehicle ready to show off at July's AirVenture aviation festival in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

    From the "endeavors best left unrushed" department...

    Seriously, rushing to meet unrealistic deadlines is what causes spectacular failure- and this is really something best left to perfect.

    You don't want to hear "AAAAAAAH!" from the crowd, you want to hear "oooooooo"...

    --
    Please help metamoderate.
  5. This Has Ended Badly Before by void* · · Score: 5, Funny

    The flying Pinto crashed and burned:

    http://www.fordpinto.com/mitzar1.htm

    http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=84720&key=0

    --


    Code or be coded.
  6. Correction to article by krakround · · Score: 2, Funny

    They are are not aero/astro grads, they are Course 16 grads.

  7. Flying car has already been invented by mfnickster · · Score: 4, Funny

    Here's how it's done, ladies and gents...

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcusjb/440970636/in/photostream/

    --
    "Slow down, Cowboy! It has been 3 years, 7 months and 26 days since you last successfully posted a comment."
  8. The rest of Wisconsin... by RingDev · · Score: 2, Funny

    Every year while the Oshkosh air fair is going on, the rest of Wisconsin wears helmets. You never know what, or who, will be dropping by.

    -Rick

    --
    "Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
  9. Get the drunk drivers off the road ... by xkr · · Score: 2, Funny
    And into the air.

    I am all for anything that speeds up natural selection.

    --
    I will create a sig when innovation restarts in the U.S.
  10. Re:New Slashdotting record. by The+FNP · · Score: 2, Funny

    Or stay slashdotted from the last time this was posted. See http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/10/1611216 -- The FNP

  11. Re:Certified to drive.... by Abreu · · Score: 2, Funny

    Slightly Off Topic: Why doesn't Slashdot cache pages on it's own servers for sites it links to in main articles for 24 hours? I'm sure there's a lot of angry webmasters out there that would appreciate this. You must be new here...
    --
    No sig for the moment.
  12. Finally, someone willing to throw their hat ... by emkman · · Score: 2, Funny

    If you haven't seen it:
    The Flying Car - A short by Kevin Smith

    --
    Moderation Totals: Flamebait=2, Troll=1, Redundant=1, Insightful=6, Overrated=1, Underrated=1, Total=12. (not mine)
  13. Re:Actually... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 4, Funny

    We take off, he sets the gps up then leans back in the seat and says "wake me up if I fall asleep". Slightly disconcerting for your first time in the air.

    Nice.

    I want to hear a commuter jet pilot say that over the intercom on a red eye flight some light. "*kkrsh* Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. I've pulled a double shift today, so if the plane starts to list, please knock loudly on the cockpit door."

    --

    The enemies of Democracy are
  14. Correct Description by fux · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's not a Drivable Airplane - It's a Transformer