Marines Get Their Own Flying Car

With seemingly every car on the road being designed by the same three people, all of whom live in the same subdivision, it seems the only leap forward in auto design is the leap upward.

Many hearts, then, were sent soaring at the news that the Federal Aviation Administration is giving the Terrafugia Transition a little light leeway in order to allow it to qualify as a light aircraft rather than a heavy machine. And now the Marines seem to be getting in on the flying Ford Focus act.

Logi Aerospace has announced that it has sent a proposal to DARPA for a flying car specifically for the use of the Marines and other military troops.

Called the Tyrannos, its principal benefit for soldiers lies in the fact that it can fly above the reach of roadside bombs.

Another quite lovely attribute is the Tyrannos' ability to take off vertically. And it all seems to be made possible by something called "shrouded propeller" technology, created by a company called Trek Aerospace.

The idea of a shrouded propeller sounds so forward into the future that there's something a little dispiriting to hear it also described by Trek as a "ducted fan," which sounds like little more than a piece of air conditioning equipment. Still, Logi Aerospace's Larry Ortega, who invented the Tyrannos' guidance system, seems confident that he knows what he's doing.

The Logi Aerospace Web site describes the Tyrannos as a four-person SUVish sort of thing "that anyone can literally drive into the air." Drivers/pilots will enjoy an animation on their windshield that directs them on a very strict route "up and down imaginary ramps that lead hundreds of feet into the air and stretch like Interstates across the country."

(Credit: Noah Ortega/Logi Aerospace)