By William Stolerman

The engineers at NASA have come up with a concept, which should it become operational, will change transport forever. We give you the Puffin.

It's a one-man, electronically-powered aircraft weighing about 136kg plus an additional 45kg for battery. It would theoretically be capable of flying at 241kmh.

Imagined by aerospace engineer Mark Moore, the Puffin sits in a niche somewhere between a commercial plane and a car. Moore explained: "We're not trying to replace the car or the airplane. Cars are great at what they do, which is go a couple of miles at relatively slow speeds. Commercial air carriers are great at going long distances at faster speeds. But what happens when we want to go 100 or 200 or 300 miles? We have to take this very long drive."

NASA has spent about $500,000 on the Puffin, which was developed in partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the National Institute of Aerospace and M-DOT Aerospace. 

While there are no plans yet for the Puffin's first manned flight, NASA expects to finish a one-third size demonstrator by March and see how well it transitions from cruising to hovering. 

Moore added: "The intent is not to be a viable product. NASA doesn't develop products; we develop new technologies that can provide industry with the ability to generate new products."

Let's hope someone in the transport industry steps up the plate.

Via [mbandf]

www.nasa.gov