The Dhaka Times Desk The flying car of the future may not have to wait much longer. We are about to enter the era of flying cars very soon. Not a science fiction movie but in reality the car will run simultaneously in the sky and on the road.
This dream of flying cars is nothing new. In 1918, a person named Felix Longbardi filed the first patent for a flying machine in the United States Patent Office. Which can also run underwater at the same time. But the interesting thing is that so far no prototype of the flying vehicle has been found in practice. However, a group of MIT researchers is showing us a promising start to that dream. The MIT research team is working with a company called Terrafugia. This company has been trying to make flying cars for the past few years.
The process of this flying car, developed jointly with MIT, is the Transition Car Plane. The Terrafugia company previously developed a flying car that required a 1,700-foot-long runway. But in a new process, they are working with MIT to design a vehicle that can take off from anywhere except its runway. The new car is being identified as TF-X. It is able to fly and land horizontally in the sky. In terms of its design, the flight mechanism is adopted from the military aircraft V-22 Osprey.
The design of the TFX can seat four passengers in a car. It can travel up to 500 miles in a single journey. This TFX will be able to reach a speed of 200 miles per hour. Due to its unique features, its drivers will be given five hours of training to operate it safely and land it safely. But luckily, more advanced features will be added to make it work in the future. This includes the Airborne Commuter. As a result TFX can avoid wind blockage, bad weather. Besides, there will be provision of emergency landing in the absence of the driver on an urgent basis. According to the TFX, if it is found that the TFX is not suitable for a safe landing, the parachute will automatically deploy. TFX can be run either manually or automatically. As drivers get in the case of cars. The TFX will be able to fly horizontally in the sky and travel from an altitude of 100 feet. The TFX is also capable of running on highways on demand.
TFX's manufacturer dreams or future plans for TFX include electric powered flying aircraft. Which will include rechargeable batteries. Besides, there are other big plans for TFX such as automatic driving where there will be no driver. It will reach the destination by starting the journey on the internet system through satellite. It will take approximately 8 to 12 years for TFX to be fully commercialized. But when it is available for purchase in the market, its price will skyrocket. According to market experts, its price will be approximately 2,80000 USD.
Reference: Discover
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