August 6, 2006 – Oshkosh, WI
A PDF of this release is available here.
 Terrafugia, Inc.'s Tent in Space 118 at AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI, July 24-30, 2006. Come on in! |
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 Carl Dietrich pointing out features of the 1/5th scale Transition wind tunnel model inside the tent. |
 Carl Dietrich and Milo Mracek with the beginning of the root wing hinge mechanism and the wind tunnel model. |
 Carl Dietrich and Burt Rutan discussing details of the Transition inside the Terrafugia tent on Wednesday. |
 Carl Dietrich answering questions after the forum he gave on Terrafugia and the development of the Transition. |
Terrafugia, Inc.'s first appearance at Oshkosh was a week that none of the team will ever forget. A team of a dozen engineers and sales representatives fielded questions and got feedback from AirVenture attendees inside booth 118. In large letters on the outside of the tent were the words "It's not a flying car. It's a roadable aircraft." Those statements reflect one of the fundamental differences between the Transition and the other dual-use vehicles that have come before. The Transition is being designed as - and is primarily intended to be used as - an airplane. Requiring a pilot's license to fly and an airport to take-off and land, the Transition's role as an airplane with additional functionality (that of being able to drive off the airport) was heavily emphasized.
At the front of the tent were two 42" TV screens playing computer simulations of the Transition in action. One was the turntable animation that has been available on the Terrafugia homepage (www.terrafugia.com). The other was new for the show and depicted the Transition landing at a runway, taxiing off the active, folding the wings and changing to front wheel drive, then driving off the airport and into the owner's garage. The functionality and the dream-come-true that this scenario represented caught the attention of young and old alike. In the center of the tent was the 1/5th scale wind tunnel model - still outfitted with its flow visualization tufts - that had been tested this spring in the MIT Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel. Also on display was the beginnings of the hardware for the root hinge in the wing folding mechanism. The back of the tent was taken up with a full-size image of the Transition in its plane configuration.
Terrafugia also introduced the "How much more would you fly?" campaign, highlighting the increased mobility, practicality and fun of owning a Transition.
Overall, the response was positive. Many visitors said that the Transition is the "best flying car concept yet". Nearly everyone was looking forward to the anticipated first prototype flight in 2008. The level of skepticism was healthy, but so was the optimism, with a number of customers placing their refundable deposits to reserve their Transition airframe number.
The ideas, questions and feedback that Terrafugia received during the week, including visits from FAA Administrator Marion Blakey and well-known aircraft designer Burt Rutan, were both encouraging and valuable as progress continues.
