Slashdot Mirror
Flying Cars Hop Slightly Closer With FAA Weight Waiver
JimFive writes "For years we've been waiting for the flying car to arrive. The FAA has made an exemption that moves this one step closer to reality. Terrafugia has been granted a weight limit exemption for a 'Roadable Airplane.' Next up is passing the federal highway safety tests."
Years? Anyone? Anyone....? Bueller?
- Moller Skycars: 1962
Try decades.....nearly two generations if you go back to when PM touted them as the next step in the American dream...
1500 pounds? Humm, you are going to drive that on the hwy? You are braver then I. I think the Jeep Wrangler weighs twice that. What kind of engine is in a 1500 pound plane, wait I know, what kind of safety cage is in that? Oh, wait I know that too.
6.8SPC TR of 550, l xwind at 6, drift rt at 26" drops 77". AT has 503 ft-lbs at 1403 fps. FT 0.86
You're mistaken. I follow F1 a lot and whilst I'm no expert, I can assure you that the reason why driver aids were limited was the opposite of what you believe. Driver aids were limited because they were too good and consequently driver skill mattered less. Drivers were not competing with each other anymore - the teams' driver aids were. If any driver could outperform such systems, teams would obviously have removed them voluntarily.
Well I am talking about aircraft. Many military jets are almost impossible to fly without computer assistance. The airframe is unstable in the sense that without control input they would tumble about and crash.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Yes, the special exception is called "Light Sport Aircraft." The criteria are that it can have no more than 2 seats, no more than 120 knots normal cruise, no more than 1320 lbs gross weight, and various other more technical requirements. The Cessna 150/152 does not qualify because it weighs 1600+ lbs. There are dozens of LSA models on the market.
LSA aircraft can be flown with a new category of pilot certification that requires less training and does not require a formal medical exam. (Although you're supposed to self-disqualify if you become aware of an adverse medical condition.)
Light sport aircraft are permitted at major airports in the U.S., including Class B airports. You may be thinking of the modest restrictions on traditional Experimental Category aircraft. Pilots with a sport pilot license must receive additional training and a specific endorsement to fly to/from airports within Class B, C, and D airspace, but there's no restriction on the LSA, assuming it is transponder-equipped.
There have been at lest three flying cars in the past. There was Molt Taylor's Aerocar, one design in the 50's from an organization in Greenville, Texas, and another whose genesis I don't specifically remember. At least the Aerocar (and maybe the others) had FAA certification. Once the technical problems have been surmounted, it always winds up that the cars are using an expensive aircraft engine to drive down the road. The cost of driving goes up fantastically. People say they want a car that can be flown (or an aircraft that can be driven), but when it comes to actually buying it, the cost of operation drives them away rather quickly. The thing that distinguishes this latest effort is that it supposedly will meet the light sport aircraft (LSA) criteria. That would open it up to a much wider range of potential purchasers, since it could be flown with lessened pilot criteria. It's pretty obvious it didn't meet the LSA criteria. The FAA wavier is to allow this thing to be heavier than the LSA rules otherwise allow. I wish these people luck, but history suggests they are investing their development dollars in the wrong place.