fender bender

Talk About Autopilot!

An aeronautical engineer presents a new twist on the ol' flying car: the road-ready airplane

Even though you'll park it IN your garage, drive it to your nearest airstrip, and pilot it to your destination, don't think of the Transition as a flying car. Carl Dietrich, the MIT aeronautical-engineering graduate student who is designing the vehicle, prefers the term "roadable aircraft"meaning a plane that drives, not a car that flies. "We try to steer away from The Jetsons," Dietrich says. "It's a step in that direction, but a baby step."

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December 2009: Best of What's New

In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.

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