This company says it's ready to build a real flying car — here's how it works

Flying cars are not just the stuff of "Back to the Future" anymore — a company called Terrafugia says it has the technology to complete one by 2025.

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terrafugia flying car tfx
Terrafugia

Although the tech may be ready to give us a flying car in less than 10 years, seeing one will depend on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) rules on flying unmanned aerial vehicles — which have yet to be released.

Here's a closer look at how the flying car works and what Terrafugia has to say about its vision becoming a reality:

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Terrafugia was founded in 2006 by students from MIT's Aeronautics and Astronautics' department to realize the dream of creating a flying car.

Terrafugia transition
Terrafugia

Above you see Terrafugia's Transition, its first flying car that was completed in 2014. 

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The Transition can easily transform from regular car to its flying form.

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It can reach 100 miles per hour in the air and has a 400-mile range.

Terrafugia transition
Terrafugia

Carl Dietrich, co-founder of Terrafugia, told Tech Insider that you can get a license to operate the Transition in as little as 20 hours.

Terrafugia transition
Terrafugia

The company, which is based in Woburn, MA., hasn't divulged the exact pricing of The Transition, but you can reserve one by going through their website. A Sport Pilot License will give you authorization to fly one.

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But Terrafugia is turning most of its attention to its next model: the TF-X. The TF-X will take off, fly, and land autonomously.

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Terrafugia

Ironically, you'll still have to drive it like any automatic car!

The TF-X is a plug-in hybrid car that will have a range of 500 miles.

terrafugia tfx
Terrafugia
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It can take off vertically, so you would only need to find a space about the size of a tennis court to go into flying mode.

"If you have the space on your own private land, you can do that," Dietrich said. "Or what may be more common in suburban areas is a local shopping plaza may create a vertical take-off area that maybe you pay a toll to use."

Simply enter your desired location, and the car will fly entirely on its own.

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Terrafugia

"When you get to that pad you would still have to get out and do a pre-flight inspection," Dietrich explained. "[Then] you'd tell it where to go, it would check the weather and for any temporary flight instructions ... and then it would suggest a route to the final destination."

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Owners would still need to undergo some type of training to determine things like when it's safe to land.

The flying car will land itself after the driver gives it permission to do so, meaning that the owner needs to understand what qualifies as safe conditions to land.

Other training would involve learning basic emergency procedures and how to operate the flying car appropriately (don't strap skis to it!). 

Dietrich said Terrafugia is aiming to develop a training program that could be learned over the course of a weekend. It could be taught at flight schools or other training centers, but those details have yet to be determined.

"We are in a position to theoretically bring a product like this to the market in 2023 to 2025," Dietrich said. "If that's achievable will depend a lot on how conversations evolve with the FAA."

terrafugia tfx
Terrafugia
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The FAA was asked to create rules that will dictate safety regulations for unmanned aerial vehicles, like the TF-X, as part of the FAA Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2012.

Those rules have yet to be put in place. When they are, Terrafugia will have a better idea on how to proceed with getting the TF-X on the market.

"Until we get that in place, things are pretty fuzzy," Dietrich said.

You can read the FAA Reform and Reauthorization Act here.

Although those rules have yet to be put in place, the FAA recently granted Terrafugia permission to test its TF-X outdoors.

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Terrafugia

This will allow the company to work on basic technology integration for the TF-X while waiting for an official FAA ruling.

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