I know it sounds like science fiction, but according to an article on BBC, an ambitious firm has revealed their plans for a new type of personal air transport vehicle that takes off and lands like a helicopter.
Earlier this month, US aerospace start-up Terrafugia unveiled the TF-X, a concept design for a radical new type of personal air transport vehicle.
Features:
According to them the car would be able to take off and land vertically like a helicopter.
In car mode, the plug-in hybrid can rely on its electric motors and battery packs.
# For lift-off it needs extra power from its hydrocarbon combustion engine.
# Folded winglets are extended.
# Two huge motor pods on either side of the vehicle are pointed vertically up, and the propellers provide lift.
# Each pod has 16 independent electric motors, with its own controller and battery pack, meaning a failure is not catastrophic.
When it attains the required altitude the pods start to point forward. A ducted fan at the rear provides thrust and the wings start to operate as a conventional aerodynamic surface to provide lift as it accelerates.
# Maximum Speed = 200 miles per hour.
# It has a a proposed range of 500 miles.