Kyle

Current Event Posting #1

A period Sanderson

1/30/12

Topic: Airplane that can fit in your  everyday garage.

Published by: CNN/TED Talks

Date published: Sunday, January 29, 2012

Original Article Author: Anna Dietrich

An airplane in your garage?

 Recently on CNN, an article was published about how transportation in the status quo is advancing. Cars and commercial vehicles are what transport most people around, but they are both limited in that they run on fossil fuels and are also constrained by roads and runways. Also, the security at the airports can be a huge hassle, so many people dislike transportation through commercial airlines. However, many people are getting into personal aviation, but even that requires a large runway for takeoff and a place to land. 

Now, chief operating officer of Terrafugia, Anna Dietrich, has been using resources that were open to her at college (MIT) to construct a new breakthrough in airplanes called "transition". In the description, they call Transition a "roadable aircraft", to show how it will be used. Intuitively, the vehicle will be able to fly and also be able to travel on streets, thus making the landing and takeoff much more flexible (as opposed to the typical runway required by aircrafts). Furthermore, it will be completely street-legal, fold its wings in, and also have a full passenger-safety system included (this includes airbags, a safety cage, a parachute, and shock-absorbers). When compared to the everyday automobile, Transition is not meant to replace the cars we drive everyday, but rather improve travel convenience for those who can afford it. The specs place the vehicle at under 7 feet tall, and also states that it will run on unleaded gasoline rather than aviation fuel, which is quite pricey when compared to the fuel we put in our cars.

Along with everything stated above, Transition will also be airport-friendly, meaning that it can land in any public-use airport or landing zone that is available to commercial planes. They are also insuring that the vehicle will pass the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, so that it can be used by the public. However, this vehicle is not yet completed but is in the testing stage, meaning that after a couple more versions are finalized, they will be able to release by, hopefully, the end of this year. 

In my opinion, this vehicle is ridiculous and will not help the public in any sort of way. It still needs to take-off from an airport, land at an airport, and cannot fly under any sort of bad weather condition. Furthermore, it will probably be very expensive and only the super-rich will be able to afford this kind of commodity. I feel that this invention is more of a show-me-off kind of vehicle rather than something that could be used daily to get to work or fly business trips with. Therefore, this vehicle is just another piece of technology with no useful cause and looking to cause many safety problems. What kind of license would be needed to pilot this? It is not a plane or a car... it is a "roadable aircraft" that will serve minimal purpose in the world today (we have much more important problems).

Article Link:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/29/opinion/dietrich-plane-that-drives/index.html