So you wanna fly this real smallest aircraft in the world?
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With only 20 hours of flying time, you too could become licensed to fly the Terrafugia, the flying car.
Terrafugia has received an examption from the FAA to be classified as a "light sport aircraft" even though it is 110 pounds over the required takeoff weight for the classification.
The Terrafugia Transition, as the model is known, hits the scales at 1,430 pounds max. If the waiver had not been granted, buyers would have been required to have more flying time before they could get behind the wheel, er, stick, er, whatever.
The extra weight was built in to take care of the airbags, crumple zones and other safety requirements of modern cars. The flying car is actually safer than other private aircraft, the company argues, because it gives pilots the option of driving, rather than flying, to a destination in bad weather.
Flight tests are expected to start next spring, Vice President Sam Schweighart tell Drive On, and deliveries could begin by the end of 2011. The "roadable plane" fits in home garages, run on either high-octane gas or aviation fuel, gets 30 to 35 miles a gallon on the ground and 5 gallons an hour in the air and has a range of 460 miles, the Associated Press says. It cruises at 115 miles per hour -- in the air. (usatoday.com)
The Icon A5 aircraft is a 2-seater sports airplane for the masses. It is solely designed for personal use. ICON A5 is lighter in weight and is amphibious with retractable landing gear for flying off in both water and land. Different features of this aircraft include carbon fiber airframe, folding wings, and unique engine that allow it to run on both aviation gas and auto. Now you do not need think of any destination in order to spend your vacations because ICON A5 can make your coming vacations unforgettable and absolutely safe. It is safe because it has propeller guard and built-in parachute that can be easily used in case of any emergency, very useful aircraft.
From the website: Introducing a new dimension to sport flying. A new, light sport aircraft manufacturer, ICON Aircraft, started with the vision that planes should be designed with the consumer in mind first. Founded out of Stanford Graduate School of Business by Kirk Hawkins, an accomplished engineer and former U.S. Air Force F-16 pilot, ICON Aircraft conducted years of thorough research to develop an industrial design that has evolved to become ICON’s first model, the ICON A5.
A long-time powersports enthusiast, Hawkins’ dream for the potential of sport flying became possible when he first heard of the FAA’s rule changes forlight sport aircraft in 2004. As he witnessed what the Yamaha Waverunner did for personal watercraft in 1980’s, Hawkins believed a consumer-oriented sport plane could do the same for recreational flying.
Early on, Hawkins began assembling investors and world-class design and engineering talent to bring the vision to reality. ICON Aircraft eventually set up its headquarters and development facility in Southern California, a region known for having the world’s largest concentration of aerospace resources as well as the world’s leading automobile design and development resources. Advising along the way have been top academic professionals, business leaders in aviation and powersports, and directors of award-winning product design firms like IDEO and BMW DesignWorks USA.
Leading the charge to bring the design into production is an engineering and fabrication team that previously worked on such notable projects as the Virgin Global Flyer and X-Prize winning SpaceShipOne, among many other significant aircraft and aerospace projects at Burt Rutan’s Scaled Composites in nearby Mojave, Calif. Specs and features: ICON A5 — Amphibian Special-Light Sport Aircraft (S-LSA) *BASE PRICE (A5 Amphibian): $139,000 USD SPECIFICATIONS - Seats: 2 - Maximum Weight: 1430 lbs - Useful Load: 430 lbs (minimum) - Baggage: 60 lbs (maximum) - Fuel (Auto Gas or Av Gas): 20 gal - Maximum Speed (Vh): 105 kts (120 mph) - Range: 300 nm - Takeoff & Landing Distance: 750 ft - Engine (Rotax 912 ULS): 100 hp Performance specifications are estimates only. Final performance specifications will be verified during flight-testing. DIMENSIONS - Interior Cockpit Width: 46 in - Wing Span: 34 ft - Aircraft Length: 22 ft - Trailered Width: 8.5 ft - Trailered Length: 28 ft DESIGN FEATURES - Folding wings (manual or automatic) - Retractable Landing Gear (on ICON A5 Amphibian) - Seawings, platforms for easy access and docking - Custom aircraft towing trailer (optional) - Headlights and flood lights PERFORMANCE FEATURES - High-performance composite airframe - Amphibious design (flies off land or water) - Custom, patent-pending, high-performance airfoil - Rear mounted, 100-hp Rotax 912 ULS Engine - Runs on auto gasoline or aviation gasoline
COCKPIT FEATURES - Intuitive, sportscar-like cockpit - Comfortable, side-by-side seating - GPS moving map - iPod in-flight music port - High-visibility canopy - Flight with removable side windows - Multiple storage compartments - Glass cockpit for night VFR (optional) SAFETY FEATURES - Predictable, docile flying characteristics - Complete Airplane Parachute, CAP (optional) - Patent-pending PropellerGuard̢㢠- Wing Angle of Attack Indicator (AoA) Seaplane only version, the ICON S5, is an available model, and will not include the Retractable Landing Gear. Options and price will vary on the ICON S5.
Chen Zhao Rong is the builder of this crazy little homemade helicopter and has somewhat of an amazing little tale. His education seemingly failed him before he made it to middle school and never learned to read English, limiting him to some really horrible Engrish. But Chen's always been more interested in mechanical engineering, though without the formal education and training, than English. But More.. he's had to figure both out on his own. Now there are plenty of people out there that fit within the same realm as Chen, but they typically don't set out to build a helicopter as their first project.
Chen decided the only way he'd be able to realize his dream was by using the vast resource of the often time-blocked or heavily-censored Chinese internet, attempting to locate foreign-language flight and engineering websites. It was on these sites where he spent countless hours poring over schematics and carefully studying diagrams in order to start building his own personal helicopter. When he was confident enough in his abilities, Chen started out by building and welding all of the parts himself, all the while, cross checking his internet-sourced research images.
Once he had completed all necessary components for the space frame, he located, purchased and mounted an older used motor. He had finally completed the build of his very own, homemade helicopter after roughly two years of development and a little less than RMB 70,000 ($10,294 USD), but there was one final challenge that faced Chen — He needed to learn how to fly it ... without killing himself.
Eventually, after many false starts, Chen got himself off the ground like the little Chinese Wright Brother he is and as you can see in the video below, he looks to be fairly confident in his homemade craft's abilities.
Chen's luck would not last long. In May 2008, while he was taking to the skies on his way to a neighboring village his motor sputtered to a stop at nearly 70 km/h, sending him hurtling back to Earth and eventually landing in a field. Chen managed to survive the crash and even walked his self-defeated ass all the way back home. He probably wished he would have died because when he finally arrived back home, his wife was irate and left him for a week and then threatened to leave him for good if he didn't stop flying. Not only was Chen's wife unhappy, but news of his crash traveled the airwaves and eventually caught the attention of local police who made him sign a document stating that he would never fly again.
The diminutive plane was designed, built, and flown by Ken Coward, William Chana, and Karl Montijo in San Diego, California, during the late 1940s. Just over 14 ft (4.25 m) long and with a wingspan of only 18 ft (5.5 m), the Wee Bee was powered by a 30-hp piston engine and could carry a maximum of 200 lb (90 kg), including the pilot and fuel. Weight was kept to a minimum by having the pilot lay in a prone position atop the fuselage
