Flight Training - March 2015 - 20

PREFLIGHT»

NEWS

BY ALTON K. MARSH

Terrafugia requests, weight, stall speed increase
Are you ready for the flying car?
TERRAFUGIA OF WOBURN, Massachusetts, has requested a second exemption
from the FAA for its two-place Transition
flying car. A previous exemption in 2010
allowed the air-car to increase weight
from the light sport standard of 1,320
pounds for land aircraft to 1,430 pounds.
The latter weight is the standard for Light
Sport seaplanes.
The new exemption request takes
the weight to 1,800 pounds, mostly to
allow systems that meet federal highway

than Light Sport rules, new automobile
regulations could be introduced during
any lengthier process requiring additional
changes to the aircraft. Whether approved
or not, the aircraft will need to weigh
1,800 pounds, he said. He did not offer a
guess as to the increase in certification
costs or sales price if the aircraft is certified in the Primary Category. The first six
aircraft will be sold for $299,000 to gain
experience with the fleet. After that the
price will be re-evaluated.

The ballistic recovery parachute adds 36
pounds. The company included a "contingency" allowance of 57 pounds.
The Transition converts to an aircraft
when the occupant stops the vehicle and
throws switches to electrically unfold and
lock the wings. The process is verified by
computer. "Due to the location of the rear
wheels (further aft of the center of gravity
than most other LSAs), the Transition
cannot rotate for takeoff until there is
more than adequate airspeed for flight,"

TERRAFUGIA prefers to call its flying car a
"roadable airplane."

standards, and also asks for an increase in
stall speed from the present Light Sport
aircraft standard of 45 knots calibrated
airspeed to 54 knots.
Terrafugia CEO and Co-founder Carl
Dietrich said he is "cautiously optimistic" that the exemption will be granted.
Approval under the Light Sport aircraft
rule, where standards are set by industry
consensus, will allow a faster approval
than is the case if the company is required
to seek a Primary Category certification.
Disapproval of the exemption request
would mean pursuit under Primary Category rules resulting in higher certification
costs and a delay in certification, Dietrich
said. Since highway rules are more volatile

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The company bases its request on the
grounds that meeting highway safety standards ultimately makes the aircraft more
crashworthy. It offers a safety improvement
by allowing pilots encountering unfavorable
weather to land and drive to their destination, the FAA filing states. Granting the
exemption also supports the future of the
personal aviation industry, the filing says.
The greatest weight increase came from
the need for "roadability" systems, adding
a total of 266 pounds to the aircraft. In that
category, ground handling to include steering, suspension, and braking added 150
pounds. Occupant structural protection
added 69 pounds, while non-structural
occupant protection added 52 pounds.

the exemption request states. It will have
a longer than normal landing roll for a
light sport aircraft. In flight the aircraft is
controlled by a stick, rudder pedals, and a
throttle. On the ground it is driven with a
steering wheel plus gas and brake pedals.
For weight and balance, the pilot
should weigh no less than roughly 120
pounds. The Transition is reported in
the exemption filing as having "heavy
controls" for a light sport aircraft. "It
is a cruiser, not an aerobatic or touchy
airplane," the filing states.
Given previous experience with a
weight exemption granted to Icon Aircraft
for its A5 amphibious aircraft, FAA consideration could take a year.
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Flight Training - March 2015

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