Terrafugia Transition will hit the market as first flying car

Flying cars have long been an invention people dream about. Ever since the 60's, surveys showed that the top new invention people want to see in the future is a flying car. And, they're right; imagine how practical a flying car would be. Yet, most of these people don't realize how much the technology of a flying car would cost for it to be able to fly and drive well at the same time.

Well, engineers at Terrafugia have just taken a huge step in transforming this dream into reality with their new Terrafugia Transition (shown below), which will hit the market next year (they'll only produce 10). This beauty can seats two, is made of super-lightweight carbon fiber, and gets a fair 35 mpg. Oh, and it can fly.

First, Terrafugia has an important clarification that they want people to know. While many people are calling it a "flying car", Terrafugia wants it to be called a plane that you can drive. A flying car implies that you could soar above traffic, but that's not what the Transition is made for. The idea behind the transition is that when you're traveling, you can fly your Transition into a small airport (Terrafugia claims most people live within 30 minutes of a small airport), and then drive to your location of wish. This way, you'll save time and rental fees. It's even compact enough to park in your garage. And rest assured that you'll arrive in style.

As convenient as it may seem for frequent flyers, many people would assume there's a catch to the car. And surprisingly, they're wrong. First, it's efficient. It gets 20 mpg in the air, and 35 mpg on land. And it uses quite inexpensive fuel. Second, it's fast; it gets 100 mph in the air. Third, it's easy; it qualifies for FAA's Light Sport classification, meaning to be able to fly the Transition, you only need half as much training time as you would need for other planes.

Most surprisingly, it's relatively affordable at $279,000. While this may seem like a lot, it's actually quite cheap for a small aircraft, especially one that can drive. Hit the read more button for more pics:

The First Electric Skateboard with a Real Riding Feel; the ZBoard

Nowadays, it seems that many forms of transportation are going electric; cars, buses, and some more portable ones like bikes and scooters. But one common form of transportation is missing from that list; that's right, skateboards. Well, truth is, electric skateboards have been on the market since the 90's, but you haven't seen them around too often. And there's a reason for that; you just can't capture the true feel of a skateboard with handheld throttles. But ZBoard just may have found the way to do it; using a weight sensor system.

The ZBoard, which is available for pre-order now, will actually sense your weight distribution on the board. The two foot pads (one on the left and one on the right) have weight sensors that find out how your weight is distributed. So, the more you lean towards the front, the more you accelerate, and the more you lean back, the more you slow down (the ZBoard uses a regenerative breaking system)

The pricing is a little hefty, but it just might be worth it, especially considering that it won't wear out your shoes as fast. The standard ZBoard costs $600 with a 15 mph top speed, and 5 mile range. The pro ZBoard costs $850 with a 17 mph top speed and a 10 mile range. The pro version uses a Li-ion battery pack for power, while the standard model uses a lead-acid pack. But, you get a $100 discount if you pre-order the ZBoard before March 15. Jump past the break for some pictures, and certainly do check out the promo video at the top of this post.