It’s not EAA AirVenture without a flying car or two, and this year’s new design — which the company says is not strictly a flying car, but a roadable aircraft — is on display just off the main drag, near the Innovation Center. Commuter Craft, based in Georgia, is displaying a prototype of a three-surface composite airplane with a five-foot-wide cabin and long lanky landing gear. This version, which will start flying in the next few weeks according to company president Richard Hogan, doesn’t have the folding wings and other gear required for driving. He plans to make two versions available, one a pure airplane, and the other with folding wings and a battery-powered driving capability of about a half hour or so. “First and foremost, it’s an airplane,” Hogan told AVweb on Friday. The driving capability “just makes it possible to complete the mission.”
Hogan said he brought a mock-up of the airplane to Oshkosh last year, but this is the first time he’s had his own exhibit with a full-size real aircraft on display. He said he expects the design will help attract new people into aviation. It will be easy to handle and stall-resistant. He and his partners plan to continue refining the design, working from their plant in Woodstock, Georgia, and eventually he plans to have a builder-assist facility where buyers can come to build their airplane. He said he has about 50 letters of interest from potential buyers, and the company partners can provide enough funding to get through the test phase to the start of production, which he’s projecting for 2017. He said they expect to price the complete kit with engine at about $110,000 for the basic airplane, and $160,000 for the roadable version.
