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"Many companies have tried to develop flying cars for the masses over the years. All have failed to do so, except one. The Terrafugia Transition fixed-wing road-capable airplane was recently cleared for civilian use by the Federal Aviation Authority. Yes, it&amp;#039;s cool. However, it&amp;#039;s far from ideal or convenient. Why? The Transition requires a real runway for take-off and landing.  Terrafugia hopes to change that, having announced plans to build a hybrid-drive vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) vehicle, known as the TF-X. That means no runway required.  How it works\u2026  Unlike the Transition, the 4-passenger TF-X is more like the tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey, a military aircraft that blends the properties of both a helicopter and a fixed-wing airplane.  The TF-X&amp;#039;s wings fold to its sides like the Transition, allowing it to fit on roads and in residential garages when in fully-electric ground mode. When it&amp;#039;s time for takeoff, the wings extend into flight position and two retractable propellers open out of a pair of 600-hp electric motor pods\u2014one on each wing tip. These props point upwards. When spinning, they pull the TF-X up off the ground like a helicopter. Once the vehicle is sufficiently airborne, the pods rotate forward, allowing the vehicle to move . As soon as the TF-X gains enough forward momentum, the wing-mounted propellers (but not the wings) are retracted and propulsion is then handled by a 300-horsepower internal combustion engine that drives a single large rear-mounted ducted prop.  When it&amp;#039;s time to land, the wing props are re-engaged and the process reverses.  There&amp;#039;s a drawback, though. The vehicle requires a clearing at least 100 feet in diameter for takeoff and landing. This means you&amp;#039;ll probably have to use a takeoff and landing site similar to those used by helicopters, and fly between those sites. Still, it&amp;#039;s more convenient than being restricted to using airports.  According to the release, operators will also have the option of flying the TF-X in automatic mode, in which they input destination coordinates and then leave the flying up to the vehicle. In automatic mode, the aircraft will avoid other air traffic, inclement weather, restricted airspace, and tower-controlled airspace. And it will land itself at the destination (if weather permits).  The TF-X will reportedly cruise at a speed of 200 mph, going up to 500 miles before needing to refuel or recharge. There&amp;#039;s no cost yet, and it&amp;#039;s 8 to 10 years away from reality at the earliest. It might sound like a crazy flight of fancy (no pun intended), but then again, so did the Transition. So don&amp;#039;t count Terrafugia out on this one.  Via Terrafugia      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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