Terrafugia Transition US approval
The United States Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had just given the Terrafugia special exemptions that would allow future production models of the aerial aircraft to be taken to highways. The approval acknowledges the safety of the Terrafugia tires on highways, and grants a special permission to replace the polycarbonate windows with automotive safety glass.
This seems to be the second step of what could be considered as a two-step approval plan for the company. During their last venture, they have been granted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with a special exemption that would list it as a Light Sports Aircraft (LSA) despite the extra 110 pounds that it carries.
The two exemptions now made it possible for Transition to be listed officialy as both a ground vehicle and as an aircraft.
The Transition has been redesigned and refitted since its first test flight in 2009, and has been in development since the founding of the company in 2006. The original model, the first and the only one that they have produced so far, is a proof-of-concept model that they use to modify the design for the final production models to be manufactured in the future.
Despite the go signals in land and air given by the two governing authorities, the Transition still needs to fly through a few more turbulent issues. The first one is its weight limitation of 330 pounds (150 kg). This means that only two (average sized) Americans can fit inside its cabin. The second is its overblown price of $250,000. The initial price of the Transition was actually set at $148,000 before.
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Source: mytechvoice