It's 2010, WHERE'S MY FLYING CAR? Actually, we may not have to wait much longer. A startup company called Terrafugia is close to producing a street-legal airplane:
The vehicle received a unique exemption from the U.S. government, which allows the production models to be 110 pounds heavier than a normal “light sport aircraft.”
Manufacturers could not fit in safety features, like airbags and crumple zones, within the 1,320 pound weight limit.
The exemption will make it easier and cheaper to get a license--A U.S. light sport pilot’s permit only requires 20 hours of flying time.
The two-seater vehicle uses its front-wheel drive on roads at ordinary highway speeds. But once it arrives at an adequate take off spot, it can extend its wings, take off and glide through the sky at 115 mph.
Leave it to those MIT wonks to make something nobody wants and label it clever.
//go bears!
Let's get some repulsor lifts in here, people!