The United States issued a certificate of airworthiness to the world's first flying car

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an airworthiness certificate for the light sports aircraft Terrafugia Transition, a vehicle that is intended to be a hybrid of an automobile and an aircraft.

For now, it can only be used in the sky: in order to take to the streets, the manufacturer still has to bring the car in line with road safety standards. But it's not long to wait: already in 2022, the Chinese company Terrafugia plans to release a full-fledged air-road hybrid two-seater Transition model on the roads. Robb Report informs about it .

To drive the Transition, owners will need both a driver's license and a sports pilot's certificate. The model only needs a minute to go from flying to surface driving. The Transition can take off and land in small airports or on highways, and you can keep it in an ordinary garage for one car: the wingspan of the hybrid is more than 8 meters, but these wings fold easily. The Transition is powered by a 100 hp Rotax 912iS Sport engine. and develops a flight speed of up to 160 km / h. The aircraft can run on either gasoline or 100LL aviation fuel, and the car will be powered by a hybrid electric engine.

The company promises to start sales before spring. The exact price is still unknown, but in 2018 the two-seat model was estimated at $ 400,000.

Terrafugia is currently developing several more flying car models, including a four-seater TF-X hybrid electric vehicle with vertical takeoff and landing.