Will the Pentagon Build the Jetsons' Flying Car?

DARPA, the Pentagon's mad-scientist research agency, has unveiled new ambitious plans for a flying car called the Transformer (TX). DARPA has already started soliciting proposals from companies to develop a TX prototype and have it ready for testing by 2015. The military's plan for a flying car goes several steps beyond previous commercial designs like the Terrafugia Transition. That "roadable aircraft" was designed by a startup company as a lightweight plane that would fold up its wings on landing, and then zoom off on the roads. But DARPA's proposed vehicle could overcome flaws that have hampered the Terrafugia--including its inability to navigate through bad weather. The agency wants to create a sturdier vehicle that would not just take off and land vertically, but could also carry four people and zip across 250 miles on a single tank of gas. In its proposal, DARPA states the TX should be both a robust ground and air vehicle, enabling soldiers to avoid water, difficult terrain, and road obstructions--to say nothing of IEDs and ambush threats.