Terrafugia is planning to show off the capabilities of the Transition flying car to the world at AirVenture Oshkosh, set for July 29 through August 4 this year. The Woburn, Massachusetts-based company announced it will take the unconventional aircraft to the skies around 8 p.m., just before the night airshow on Wednesday, July 31.
During a 20-minute demonstration, Terrafugia’s test pilot plans to unfold the airplane’s wings, drive it and fly it in front of the crowds. This is the first time in eight years of exhibiting at AirVenture that the Transition is scheduled to fly and the first time the flying car will be demonstrated in front of the general public. “It was a natural that when the time came to make flights before a large, public audience, joining with the EAA at Oshkosh was a perfect fit,” Terrafugia’s CEO Carl Dietrich said.
The roadable airplane first flew last spring. Terrafugia hopes to fit the hybrid into the LSA category. The Transition that will fly at AirVenture has accumulated about 50 hours of flight time and is the second of three testbeds, said Terrafugia’s vice president of business development Richard Gersh.
But it may be a while before it is ready to enter the market. Terrafugia’s engineers are currently working on a new pre-production model based on what they learned from the initial testing program, said Gersh. While several changes will be made, the overall look will be very similar to the first prototype, Gersh said. The company hopes to deliver the first flying car in 2015 or early 2016.
Despite the drawn out development program for the Transition, Terrafugia recently announced it is also working on a VTOL aircraft called the TF-X.
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