An aircraft that can travel between airports ordinary roads, went even further along the path of creating a "flying car".
With the wings folded, they assure us, it will be easy to leave the TF-X in an ordinary garage, since the vertical take-off made it possible to make the track very narrow. (Here and below illustrations of Terrafugia.)
Her new concept TF-X is promised to be launched in a series in 8-12 years, and not in an indefinite future (which is most often translated from marketing to consumer as "never").
First, a four-seater transport capable of driving on roads common use and having much more reasonable dimensions than the same double Transition with its 6 × 2.3 × 2 m. However, specific figures have not yet been named; obviously, the designers do not dare to shackle themselves with strict obligations at such an early stage. Secondly, if the Transition is practically an airplane with folding wings, requiring a runway of more than 570 m, then the TF-X will be able to fly in and land almost vertically, “from the patch”.
The apparatus will be left with two wings of an almost normal appearance, only folding. On the ground and on takeoff, the hybrid TF-X moves only on electric power. The reasons are obvious: a powerful aircraft engine cannot be squeezed into the environmental restrictions for land-based cars, primarily in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, two helicopter-type propellers are rotated by blocks of electric motors with a capacity of 600 hp each. With. Each block arranged in the engine nacelle consists of 16 electric motors. The developer claims that the device needs 32 motors to continue lifting if one or two of them fail. However, it is obvious that the reason for such an unusual design was the lack of ready-made transport electric motors of similar power and, at the same time, sufficiently compact. Well, something weaker than 38 liters. With. easy to find, since the current ones are equipped with similar motors mass-produced electric vehicles and hybrids.
In flight, the starting propellers fold in, reducing drag. The wings remain, although they still look too small in the concept images.
Initially, the two propellers at the ends of the wings will point to the sky, lifting the TF-X vertically upwards. Once the required height is reached, the propellers will gradually tilt forward, causing the car to fly horizontally with a climb. When a certain minimum speed is reached (obviously, it must be higher than the stall speed), the propellers fold in to reduce air resistance. It will still be very difficult to use them for flight, since the 1,200 hp electric traction. With. on an ongoing basis, the power plant will not be able to give out, because to obtain such a current, both a more powerful engine and an expensive generator are needed.
And what about after folding the propeller blades? Here, an internal combustion engine with a capacity of some 300 liters is connected. With. It turns the push screw large diameter located in the stern of the aircraft:
After gaining speed to a maximum of 322 km / h, part of the engine power will go to recharge the lithium batteries used for ground driving and takeoff and landing. So, the noise and emissions on the ground are minimal, although during a long drive on the highway without electric refueling, the internal combustion engine can turn on to recharge the batteries. At the same time, there are no propellers rotating on the highway, which, of course, would unnerve the surrounding four-wheeled citizens.
Before you start dreaming about skyrocketing straight out of a traffic jam, we have a word of warning: Terrafugia believes that a 15.25m radius clear zone will be needed to launch around the TF-X, which is explained without any details for "safety reasons" . Obviously, folding wings and propellers with the air currents they create preclude normal take-off from the highway - at least in compliance with safety standards. That is, to take off, you have to drive to the nearest airstrip, which in the US is usually not too far from anywhere in any state. Let's add: landing pads for helicopters, in some American cities, located on the roofs of the rear, for such takeoff and landing are also theoretically suitable.
On the highway, a flying car should not be much wider than usual.
Of course, we can say that there are already helicopters for this. However, a rare garage helicopter can fly 805 km (TF-X range) at a speed of 322 km / h with “airplane” fuel consumption, because a helicopter usually consumes several times more liters per kilometer, and its power plant wears out faster, and maintenance at a similar capacity is more expensive.
Do you think this is impractical, because learning to fly a helicopter is much more complicated than an airplane, and the TF-X will require both modes? Here, Terrafugia relies only on the automatic flight system it is developing. This is not even so much an advanced autopilot as a passenger aircraft without a pilot. A person controls the TF-X completely only on the ground, and before takeoff lays the destination and leans back in his chair. The choice of a specific route remains with the software of the flying machine, which also controls the propellers during takeoff and decides when to switch from a helicopter takeoff on electric propulsion to aircraft movement on an internal combustion engine.
Theoretically, you can take off from any point where there is a distance of 15 m free space. In practice, in most European countries, such flights will require permission. However, the development is clearly intended for the US market.
By the way... If all the components declared by the developer are not only absolutely real, but also available on the market, then such an advanced autopilot has yet to be created, on which Terrafugia is going to concentrate its main efforts. They say that if it detects obstacles in the landing zone (another aircraft or just a tree felled by a storm), the device will refuse to land and contact the local air traffic controller to look for other places. In the absence of a stable radio connection or the sudden self-removal of the pilot from control, the TF-X will fly to the nearest airfield or helipad and land in an empty spot.
No less impressive is the statement that in the event of failure of all electric motors, even before gaining speed sufficient for level flight, the autopilot will be able to transfer the aircraft to autorotation and safely land it on the landing gear.
Now you yourself understand that such a lot of work cannot be done before eight years. Why does the company lay out cards so early? For marketing reasons, I think: the manufacturer has at least eight years of intensive advertising campaign, and at the expense of the media, because it is difficult not to write about the development of such an exotic project, no matter how you personally evaluate it. Similarly, the cunning Terrafugia did seven years earlier with the Transition just approaching series production.
Another question seems to be more important. How much would a four-seat VTOL plane parked in a garage and allowed to drive on public roads cost? The developer vaguely talks about the price, "comparable to current luxury cars from the very top price segment". This means that your tramp Nissan GT-R it will almost certainly be too cheap compared to the new product, because the current Transition is going to sell for $ 279 thousand apiece. One can only hope that after the appearance of the first commercially successful project of this type, more budget builders of flying cars will be born.
Although it will still be difficult for it to take off from the highway, this is perhaps one of the best approximations to the implementation of a real winged car.
Adapted from Terrafugia.
Taken from here:
The American company Terrafugia has begun developing a flying car with a hybrid power plant equipped with a vertical takeoff and landing system.
The flying car, which is still called TF-X, will be equipped with a hybrid power plant with the ability to recharge batteries from a household power outlet. It will include a 300-horsepower engine internal combustion and two 600-horsepower electric motors responsible for takeoff and landing. In the air, the car will be able to gain a maximum speed of 322 kilometers per hour. Estimated power reserve - more than 800 kilometers.
All Terrafugia TF-X mechanical controls will be replaced with electronic ones. At the same time, according to the company, it will be no more difficult to control a flying machine than ordinary car. At the same time, it takes only five hours to learn how to fly it.
The driver will only need to enter into the computer the area where it is planned to land, as well as indicate several alternate sites. The system will then analyze the flight conditions, including weather, distance, presence of closed for flight civil aviation zones. If the electronics decide that the flight may be dangerous, the takeoff will not take place.
In addition, it is planned to equip the flying car with reserve parachutes and an emergency automatic landing system, which will turn on if the pilot does not respond to computer requests. Wings on the ground vane engines fold and TF-X will turn into ordinary car certified for use on public roads.
Before bringing the Terrafugia TF-X to mass production, engineers will need another eight to twelve years. The cost of new items, according to representatives of the company, will be at the level of "top representatives of the luxury segment."
Terrafugia Transition
Terrafugia's first flying car, the Transition, was certified three years ago. The machine is set in motion by the usual gasoline engine, and in the air a Rotax 912ULS propeller engine with a power of 100 Horse power. This car needs a runway to take off.
Terrafugia Transition
It takes about a minute to transform the Transition into a plane. By air, the car can overcome 787 kilometers, developing a maximum speed of 185 kilometers per hour. On the ground, Transition with a fully filled tank will be able to travel 105 kilometers.
Terrafugia Transition
The flying car is included in the class of "light sports aircraft". In the US, to control such aircraft, you need to take special courses and fly 20 hours.
Only a lazy science fiction writer, futurist or engineer has not dreamed in their life of such a thing as a flying car. After all, the fact that such transport is practical and convenient to use is obvious. A flying car would help solve a lot of problems, including traffic on the roads. This review is about the most convincing already existing flying cars.
1. TF-X
Flying car TF-X from Terrafugia is a concept car-helicopter. It is assumed that he will work on two electric motors with a capacity of 670 hp, which should provide him with vertical thrust. The car can accommodate up to three people.
Max speed in flight will be 322 km / h, and the power reserve (flight) - 800 kilometers. Unfortunately, it will be possible to see this miracle in the air only in 6-12 years. But at the same time, the developers are threatening to show a fully functioning prototype in the next 2 years.
2. Aeromobil
developed by the Slovak company of the same name. It was invented by a group of enthusiasts from Bratislava. The miracle of technology should enter the market very soon - in 2018. Development of this vehicle goes fast.
In 2013, engineers have already demonstrated several fully functioning Aeromobil prototypes at once. Latest Models qualitatively differ in that their wings can be folded along the sides. Now work is underway to improve the security system.
3. Moller Skycar
The amazing Moller Skycar is a hybrid of an aircraft and spaceship. It can take off vertically and hover in the air. The speed of existing prototypes already reaches 600 km/h. It will work on alcohol or kerosene.
Among the shortcomings of the aircraft, it is worth mentioning the control that is too complicated today, as well as cumbersomeness. For a 100 km journey, the device “eats” 10 liters of the mentioned fuel. The range in this case will be 1200 km.
4.Transition
Transition plane car from the already mentioned American company The Terrafugia is notable primarily for being one of the few fully functioning flying vehicles to date. It was created back in 2009 by a group of students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The device costs a lot, really. In the sky, the "car" accelerates to 185 km / h, and on the highway to 105 km / h. The device transforms from an airplane into a car in about 60 seconds.
5. Moller 200X
A real antique! This aircraft successfully passed its tests back in 1989, bringing fame to the company of the same name. The device looks like a flying saucer. Able to fit two people, driver and passenger. It accelerates to 160 km / h, and the fuel is enough for only 1 hour.
The device unfortunately turned out to be too flammable and unreliable, and it takes off only 3 meters.
6 Parajet Skycar
Another curious hybrid of air and land modes of transport. This time the engineers crossed paratrike and buggy, two very exotic modes of transport. Rises into the sky thanks to a parachute and powerful engine 150 hp Runs on biofuel and accelerates to 90 km / h. Raises to a height of 600-900 meters. The car is not suitable for the city, as it is very picky about takeoff and landing. Nevertheless, the device flies.
7 Maverick Flying Car
Another flying buggy, but unlike the previous contender, it is much safer and more convenient. Accelerates up to 64 km / h in the air. Designed with the general user in mind. great job did the designers of the aircraft, trying to bring it as close as possible appearance to an old car.
8. PAL-V
They mix not only cars and planes, but also motorcycles and helicopters. good example such engineering creativity is . The vehicle was created in Holland. The concept is based on the desire to create individual vehicles for movement on land and in the air. Accelerates up to 180 km / h and is able to fly up to a height of 1.2 thousand meters.
On the track, the motorcycle “eats” 8 liters of fuel per 100 km, which will allow you to drive up to 1,200 km or fly 350 km. The first customers will receive their helicopter-motorcycle in 2017.
9 Audi Shark
This flying shark was created by Turkish designer Kazim Docu and is a hybrid of an airplane and a motorcycle. From the side, the car looks much more like a submarine than an aircraft, thanks to its streamlined design. An unusual vehicle is designed for two people. For movement, the vehicle must use the air cushion principle.
10. Honda Fuz-O
Another interesting concept from designer John Meheadin. This device will have to take off and land vertically. According to expectations, it will be able to accelerate up to 350 km / h, and this miracle will have to ride on innovative turbine wheels. The concept of one of the most thoughtful pilot safety systems to date is different. The cars can fit a driver and two passengers.
11 Skycruiser
Krossblade Aerospace Systems is developing its own flying car, a five-seat hybrid Skycruiser that will operate on the principle of a multicopter. The car will have two folding wings and four folding rotors with electric drives and rotary engines. The car will take off and land vertically, but unlike all the samples already cited above, the prototype cannot even boast of being relatively compact.
Bonus: MyCopter
The MyCopter project is implemented in the European Union under the auspices of the state authorities. Unlike the projects of commercial companies, here the engineers pay almost no attention to their own offspring. It may sound paradoxical, but the real goal of MyCopter is not to create, but to popularize flying cars, showing other manufacturers the promise of this direction.It is also important that within the framework of the initiative, many legislative acts are being developed to promote flying cars, the formation of requirements for the level of their safety and comfort. So, for example, the EU authorities require that air cars be as similar as possible to the cars familiar to everyone, and even a minimally trained driver can cope with the control of such a miracle of technology.
The list of these incredible cars could well be supplemented. This car was clearly ahead of its time.
Appearances of cars hovering in the air - like those we saw in the sci-fi blockbusters "The Fifth Element", "Blade Runner", "Back to the Future" or in Episode II " star wars", - it is not long to wait. Companies have almost mastered all the technologies and nuances of the production of manned vehicles, on-board computers"smarter" so much that they require minimal pilot intervention, and the cost of materials and components has become affordable like never before. Vesti.Hi-tech has chosen the top five most promising "airmobile" projects.
Flying Roadster (Aeromobil 3.0)
The day before, which announced plans to forge mass production aircars already in 2017. “We need to move traffic from 2D to 3D,” Aeromobil CEO Juraj Vaculik said at the SXSW festival in Austin. His company, which has been developing a flying car since the 1990s, is very close to realizing his dream.
According to Vaculik, not the last role in this was played by the development and reduction in the cost of technologies that occurred in last years: "Carbon fiber materials, high tech; ten years ago, all these things were too expensive and beyond the reach of small teams. "For example, the quality of the autopilot systems that we were able to install in our prototype, five years ago it seemed pipe dream", he added.
“The idea of launching a car into the air is over 100 years old,” Vaculik says. “I love the story of the pioneers of aviation, and the first attempt to build a flying car was made in 1917.”
Curtis Autoplane
Indeed, the first tests of his "autoplane" were carried out by the American Glen Curtis almost a hundred years ago. The heavy and clumsy aluminum alloy unit, with a wingspan of more than 12 meters and a 4-bladed propeller behind, could only "jump" along the runway. He didn't really get up in the air. However, Curtiss Autoplane proved that the idea of a "flying" car has a right to exist.
ConvAirCar
Since then, many different concepts of "winged horses" have been created. Most of the tests, unfortunately, ended tragically. For example, in 1947, the ConvAirCar (Model 118) crashed - a car with an attached (“aircraft”) part to the roof. The car showed good fuel consumption (5 liters per 72 kilometers), but crashed during regular tests due to a failure of the fuel supply system. Test flights resumed a couple of years later, but in the end the project had to be curtailed due to lack of funding.
In 1942, an A-40 airframe with a T-60 tank suspended from it was flight tested near Moscow. The author of the project is the Soviet aircraft designer Oleg Antonov. The idea turned out to be unsuccessful: due to the large weight, the flying tank barely rose to a height of 40 meters.
During the next half century, aviation developed rapidly, and almost all technical difficulties were overcome. Designers of modern, "urban" aircars are mainly faced with two problems. Firstly, many people need a fairly large space for acceleration, or better, a separate airfield. Secondly, the width of some samples (including wings) can reach 5-6 meters. All this makes them unsuitable for urban conditions.
Aeromobil 3.0
Aeromobil 3.0 (or Flying Roadster) does not have these shortcomings. First of all, the width of the "flying roadster" does not exceed 2.25 meters (with wings folded), which allows it to fit on a conventional parking space, and the length is 6 meters. In addition, it can take off both from a lawn sown with grass and a flat, straight road. “All we need is a 250-meter runway for take-off and only 50 meters for landing,” Vaculik said.
The interior of the Flying Roadster is more like an airplane cockpit than a typical car.
Under the hood of Aeromobil 3.0 is a Rotax 912S 4-cylinder engine (gasoline is used as fuel) with a capacity of 100 horsepower (~ 75 kW). It allows the air car to reach speeds of up to 200 km/h in flight and up to 160 km/h on the track. The duration of the flight / ride on a full tank is 700/500 km, fuel consumption is 15/8 liters per hour. You will need a pilot's license to fly it.
The Aeromobil 3.0 cockpit has two seats - for the pilot and the passenger. Since the fall of last year, the machine has been participating in a program of regular test flights. According to Vaculik, it is designed for "wealthy buyers of supercars and enthusiastic aeronauts." How much the "flying roadster" will cost by the start of sales is still unknown.
Crossblade SkyCruiser
Another viable project is being developed by Krossblade Aerospace Systems (KAS). According to the managing director of the American company Daniel Lubrich, the future belongs to machines with vertical takeoff and landing, like quadrocopters. So, the five-seater hybrid KAS SkyCruiser has folding wings (their design is similar to the Batmobile from the movie " The Dark Knight: The Rebirth of a Legend), four electrically operated folding rotors and rotary engine Wankel.
Unlike the Aeromobil 3.0, the SkyCruiser can do without a runway at all. The aircar is capable of rising into the air and descending vertically – for example, to “fly around” a traffic jam. True, the unit is not so compact: its wingspan is 9.5 meters (in the "loose" state), the total length is 8.4 meters. Parking such a car can be quite difficult.
According to Lubrich, 20th-century aircraft did not have computers, so the pilot had to constantly and manually adjust the mass of the rotor (after it stopped or during rotation). A breakthrough was made a couple of decades ago, with the development of drones. "Now we have on-board computers that do their job just fine and in automatic mode. Push up and they go up, push to the left and they move to the left, you don't have to worry about calibration and control," he says.
MyCopter
The myCopter project, designed to relieve highway congestion, is funded by the European Union. As conceived by engineers, a personal aircraft should independently fly around obstacles and plot a route. True, tests of prototypes of the vehicle of the future have not yet been carried out.
At the same time, EU authorities are involved in issuing permits, licensing and aviation regulation issues: for example, rules for the use of airspace by private aircars.
European institutions, in particular, pay increased attention to the cockpit: it is important that it resembles the interior of a car as much as possible, and a person with minimum level training
ONE (Pal-V)
The production of some aircraft has already begun. For example, the Dutch company Pal-V (Personal Air and Land Vehicle, or "Personal Ground-Air Vehicle") crossed a motorcycle and a helicopter in the ONE project. Direct thrust is provided by a 2-blade pusher propeller (like a helicopter) that can be folded, longitudinal stability- two tail booms, and the rotating moment (when lifting and lowering) creates a freely rotating rotor.
Three-wheel chassis is related to the ONE motorcycle
In the cockpit of the aircar there are two seats, for the pilot and the passenger. Gas engine with a power of 160 kW allows the device to reach speeds of up to 180 km / h on the ground and in the air. The maximum takeoff capacity is 910 kg.
Pal-V successfully tested the ONE prototype in 2012. And in May 2014, the manufacturer began accepting the first commercial orders for the production of a limited series (of 45 pieces) of aircars worth 500,000 euros each. Their deliveries should begin in 2016-2017.
TF-X (Terrafugia)
TF-X from the American Terrafugia is a real "transformer" with an electric motor and a pusher propeller. It rises and falls to the ground like a quadrocopter: vertically.
Terrafugia has unveiled a new design concept for the TF-X hybrid vehicle, which is expected to be able to travel on public roads as well as fly.
Recall that for the first time Terrafugia spoke about the TF-X project in 2013. The flying car is planned to be equipped with two folding wings with rotary propellers installed on them. The car will be able to carry out vertical takeoff and landing, which will save the owner from having to search for an accelerating runway.
Model TF-X will be equipped with a hybrid power plant. When moving on the ground, as well as during takeoff, the necessary thrust will be provided by electric motors powered by batteries. During the flight, a 300 horsepower internal combustion engine will come into play, driving a pusher propeller in an annular fairing mounted at the rear of the machine. The internal combustion engine can also be used to generate power to recharge batteries.
In the air, the TF-X will be able to reach speeds of up to 320 km / h, and the maximum flight range will be 800 km. The cabin can accommodate four people, including the driver-pilot.
When creating a vehicle, much attention is planned to be paid to safety issues. In particular, the car will receive an autopilot system and automatic takeoff / landing.
The scaled-down TF-X will soon undergo extensive testing in wind tunnel at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Alas, if a flying car appears on the commercial market, it will not be earlier than in 8-12 years.
