Flying cars will likely reach the market in the next few years, but the first wave will be driven by pilots, Business Insider reported.
Boston-based company Terrafugia is already taking orders for its FAA-approved Transition "flying car."
Founded in 2006 by five MIT engineers who are all pilots, Terrafugia has introduced its first model, a small aircraft with wings that can fold up so it can drive on a road or fit into a garage.
The small plane that can transition to the highway runs on automotive gasoline, making it less expensive to maintain than an actual plane. The Transition is also fuel-efficient, getting an excellent 20 miles per gallon while flying at 100 mph.
According to co-founder and CEO Carl Dietrich, the first Terrafugia model addresses the four main problems with owning a small plane: weather, cost, travel time to the airport and ground transportation.
The company founders started with addressing these problems faced by anyone who flies for a hobby. Small aircraft can't fly in bad weather and can be expensive to keep fueled and stored safely at an airport. They are also limiting when it comes to travel to and from the airport.
For motorcyclists who wish they could leave the ground, Dutch company PAL-V may have the answer with its three-wheeled model. Described as "more motorcycle than car, and more helicopter than plane," the PAL-V ONE is a gyrocopter with an engine-powered propeller.
The vehicle is slower than a helicopter and easier to fly, with no real risk of stalling, according to PAL-V CEO Robert Dingemanse.
The PAL-V ONE may be even easier to use than the Transition, since it has short takeoff and landing capabilities that don't require an airport. The gyrocopter flies at 112 mph maximum speed and stays below 4,000 feet to avoid commercial airspace.
The main customers for the PAL-V ONE are people who already know how to fly, Dingemanse said.
The flying car of sorts will be a "very small part of the car market for a long time," Dingemanse said.
Terrafugia has taken in more than 100 deposits of $10,000 each for the Transition. About 25 percent of its customers are not pilots.
Both companies will go through several more years of testing and development before the cars can be released on the market.
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