March 15, 2007 – Cambridge , MA
A PDF of this release is available here.
Terrafugia announces the successful completion of the full-vehicle prototype Preliminary Design Review (PDR), which was held at MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. In attendance were roughly twenty aviation and automotive experts, including certified A&P mechanics, Certified Flight Instructors (CFIs), MIT aerodynamicists and vehicle designers, composite construction experts, and other industry experts with experience at companies such as Lockwood Aviation, Raytheon, and McDonnell Douglas.
Holding this review was part of the effort of Terrafugia’s engineering team to ensure that the Transition is not being designed in a vacuum. This open approach leads to a more creative and more practical design with a higher level of manufacturability than could otherwise be achieved. Many good suggestions were received during the review. These covered the vehicle structure, power train and aerodynamics. Some will be incorporated directly into the prototype; others will be kept in mind as potential weight-saving ideas later in the development cycle.
No critical problems were identified during the review, and the hardware development process has been initiated. The fuselage construction will be done at Terrafugia’s Woburn, MA facility while much of the power train components are already available commercially off-the-shelf.
The Transition continues to become a reality. Tangible progress is being made according to Terrafugia's development schedule.
Terrafugia would like to thank the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics for hosting the review and all of the talented and dedicated reviewers that attended the session.