I Believe I Can Fly, I Believe I Can Touch The Sky: Terrafugia Flying Car Gets FAA Approval

Remember the Terrafugia Transition? The $194K street-legal car that can turn into a plane? Well it just got Federal Aviation Administration approval for use in the US. Whee! People will be flying into shit before you know it.

The Transition was designed as a "light sport" aircraft, the smallest kind of private aeroplane under FAA classification, with a maximum weight of 1,320lb. But the manufacturers found it impossible to fit the safety features - airbags, crumple zones and roll cage, for instance - that are required for road vehicles into that weight.

Uniquely, however, the FAA has granted the Transition an exemption - allowing it to be classified as a light sport aircraft despite being 120lb over the limit.

Light sport aircraft licences require just 20 hours' flying time, making them much easier to obtain than full private licences.

No airbags, crumple zone or roll cage and it only takes 20 flying hours to get your license -- what would possibly go wrong?

A: You buzz my house and I shoot you down with a rocket launcher.

Hit the jump for several more shots of the Transformer, including one with a t-rex (seriously).

Terrafugia Transition 'flying car' gets go-ahead from US air authorities [telegraph]

Thanks to TobyRaider, who's content with his ROFLcopter.

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