Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Terrafugia brought into DARPA flying vehicle program

By James M. Connolly

Terrafugia Inc., which is developing the Transition highway-capable aircraft, reports that it has signed on as the largest subcontractor on a $65-million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) project to build a four-person flyable and road vehicle.

The so-called flying car project is designed to produce a vehicle known as the Transformer, according to Terrafugia. The Woburn-based company is serving as a subcontractor to the winning team on the project, made up of lead contractor and Maryland-based AAI Corp., a Textron Inc. company, and other Textron units.

According to Terrafugia, the Transformer, or TX, would operate like the U.S. military’s Humvee while on the ground with the added ability to work like a helicopter. DARPA said in an announcement that the Transformer would provide  “unprecedented capability to avoid traditional and asymmetrical threats while avoiding road obstructions.” Intended missions of up to 280 miles include medical evacuation, avoidance of improvised explosive devices, remote resupply and Special Forces insertion.

The five-year program has a target of producing a prototype as early as 2015.

Terrafugia’s work will leverage its experience in drive and flight integration, deployable flight surfaces and automotive crash safety for an aircraft. CEO Carl Dietrich said in a press release, “This DARPA program effectively leverages Terrafugia’s core competencies and enables us to grow from a pure GA company to an emerging aerospace company with both general aviation and defense development programs. Our strong team of Terrafugia engineers with recent experience designing and building a dual purpose vehicle will bring a unique perspective to the TX program that is highly valued by DARPA and the other contractors on our TX team.”

In September, Terrafugia said it is moving its Transition "flying car" into low-volume production at a 19,000 square-foot facility in Woburn.