Terrafugia
 |
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aircraft manufacturing |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founder(s) | Dr. Carl Dietrich Anna Mracek Dietrich Dr. Samuel Schweighart Alex Min Arun Prakash |
| Headquarters | Woburn, Massachusetts, United States 42°28′56″N 71°07′10″W / 42.48226°N 71.11946°WCoordinates: 42°28′56″N 71°07′10″W / 42.48226°N 71.11946°W |
| Key people | Carl Dietrich, CEO/CTO Anna Mracek Dietrich, COO Samuel Schweighart, VP Engineering Richard Gersh, VP Business Development Col. Phil Meteer, Ret., Test Pilot Andrew Heafitz VP Product Development |
| Website | www.terrafugia.com |
Terrafugia[1] (pronounced /ˌtɛrəˈfuːdʒiə/) is a small, privately held American corporation that is developing a roadable aircraft dubbed the Transition. Their General Aviation (GA), Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) is designed to fold its wings, enabling the vehicle to also operate as a street-legal road vehicle, and is scheduled for release in 2012.
It is the sole registered automobile manufacturer in Massachusetts.[not verified in body]
Contents |
[edit] Founding and financial history
Terrafugia was founded by graduates of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduates of the MIT Sloan School of Management. Their team and business plan was the runner-up for the 2006 MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition. Terrafugia was then incorporated May 1, 2006, with much of the initial funding coming from CEO and founder Carl Dietrich's US$30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize. The first round of convertible note financing began at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2006 and closed December 21, 2006, raising US$258,215.[2][3] Five additional rounds of convertible note financing followed. The first round of equity financing closed in 2008 and raised US$1,531,323.[4] Another round of equity financing was planned in 2009. Second and third rounds of equity financing raised US$2,037,680 in May, 2010 and US$960,418 in Dec, 2010.[5][6] In October 2008, Terrafugia reported seeking reservations for airframe number 57, and a more than US$8 million backlog.[7][8] In March 2009 the company had fewer than 35 aircraft orders and by September 2009 they had received 70 orders.[9]
[edit] Transition roadable aircraft
The Transition light sport aircraft is expected to be released in late 2012.[10] The estimated purchase price is US$194,000.[11] Owners will be required to obtain a Sport Pilot certificate,[12] which can be acquired after 20 hours of observed flying time. Owners will be able to drive as a car from their garage to an airport where the wings can be deployed for take-off and flight within a range of 400 nmi (740 km; 460 mi). It will carry two people plus luggage and will operate on a single tank of regular unleaded gas.[13] The design of the production version was made public at AirVenture Oshkosh on 26 July, 2010.[14]
The Transition Proof-of-Concept's maiden flight on 5 March 2009 lasted 37 seconds and covered 3,000 feet (910 m) of the runway at the Plattsburgh International Airport.[15] The test pilot then conducted 6 additional takeoffs and landings.[11]
In June 2010, the FAA granted Terrafugia an exemption for the Transition's extra takeoff weight.[16] The added weight accommodates the Transition's road safety features, which is needed to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.[16] On June 29, 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also granted exemptions allowing the Transition to use a polycarbonate windshield, to use tires suited for highway and aircraft use but not typically certified for multi-purpose vehicle use, to not include an electronic stability control system that could inadvertently cut engine power during flight, and finally, to use regular instead advanced airbag deployment.[17]
[edit] DARPA Transformer (TX) Project
Transformer (TX) is a DARPA US$65m, five year, three phase program[18] intended to develop a 'flying Humvee'. A Phase 1 proposal from AAI Corporation was awarded a US$3m contract in September, 2010[19] and incorporates deployable surfaces technology from subcontractor Terrafugia.[20][21]
[edit] References
- ^ "TERRAFUGIA, INC. Summary Screen". The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division. http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/corp/corpsearch/CorpSearchSummary.asp?ReadFromDB=True&UpdateAllowed=&FEIN=000981506. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
- ^ Terrafugia (2007-02-14). "Upcoming 2007 Events". Terrafugia Newsletter (4). http://www.terrafugia.com/news/nl4.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- ^ "Terrafugia SEC Form D 2007-01-04". http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/vprr/07/9999999997-07-003698.
- ^ "Terrafugia SEC Form D 2008-11-11". http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/vprr/08/9999999997-08-046067.
- ^ "Terrafugia SEC Form D 2010-05-18". http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1386125/000138612510000003/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml.
- ^ "Terrafugia SEC Form D 2010-12-23". http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1386125/000138612510000004/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml.
- ^ "AOPA Reporting Points, Flying car or pipe dream?, Carl Dietrich". http://blog.aopa.org/blog/?p=586#comment-17792.
- ^ Foege, Alan (2008-12-08). "The car of the future: It flies". CNN. http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/02/smallbusiness/flying_car.fsb/index.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- ^ Carl Dietrich, Terrafugia CEO; Evelyn Rusli, Forbes (2009-09-29) (Adobe Flash). Inside Terrafugia's Flying Car (Podcast). Event occurs at 1m10s. http://video.forbes.com/fvn/travel/inside-terrafugia-flying-car. Retrieved 2009-10-29. "Since the Transition's first flight in March, the number of orders has more than doubled to 70."
- ^ Dietrich, Carl. "CEO, Terrafugia". Terrafugia. http://www.terrafugia.com/pdf/LetterToNewsletterSubscribers-2011-06-10.pdf. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
- ^ a b Roush, Wade (2009-03-18). "Terrafugia Achieves Maiden Flight". Xconomy. http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/03/18/terrafugia-achieves-maiden-flight-live-blogging-from-the-boston-museum-of-science/. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ "Terrafugia Transition: 'Flying Car' Receives Go-Ahead from FAA", GAYOT.com
- ^ Harris, Mark (January 11, 2009). "World’s first flying car prepares for take-off". The Times. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article5489287.ece. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
- ^ ""Flying Car" Moves Closer to First Delivery". Terrafugia. 2010-07-26. http://www.terrafugia.com/newsreleases.html#NextGen. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ Page, Lewis (18 March 2009). "World's first proper flying car makes debut flight". The Register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/18/transition_flies/. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ a b Grady, Mary (23 June 2010). "FAA Grants Extra Weight To Terrafugia". AVweb. http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/FAAGrantsExtraWeightToTerrafugia_202769-1.html. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
- ^ Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2011-06-29). "Terrafugia, Inc.; Grant of Application for Temporary Exemption From Certain Requirements of FMVSS No. 110, Tire Selection and Rims for Motor Vehicles, FMVSS No. 126, Electronic Stability Control Systems, FMVSS No. 205, Glazing Materials, and FMVSS No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection". Federal Register 76 (125): 38270–38279. 76 FR 38270. http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2011/06/29/2011-16222/terrafugia-inc-grant-of-application-for-temporary-exemption-from-certain-requirements-of-fmvss-no#h-24. Retrieved 30 June 2011. "Docket No. NHTSA-2010-0154"
- ^ Baratti, L. Flying car company tagged for Transformer tactical vehicle team Exec Digital, 18 December 2010. Accessed: 27 December 2010.
- ^ "Award Notice". 2010-09-27. https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=eb1ec88e424984a2e76cead67dd2fc72&tab=core&_cview=0. "Contract Award Number: FA865010C7068 Contract Award Dollar Amount: 3049562 Contractor Awardee: AAI CORPORATION, 124 INDUSTRY LN, HUNT VALLEY MD 21030-3342"
- ^ Huang, Gregory T. Terrafugia, Aurora Flight Sciences, Metis Design take wing in $65M DARPA program to design Flying Humvee Xconomy, 2 December 2010. Accessed: 16 December 2010.
- ^ McKeegan, Noel. Terrafugia to contribute DARPA flying car program GizMag, 30 November 2010. Accessed: 16 December 2010.
