Petition for exemption from certain sections of 14 CFR Parts 21, 43, and 61 where the term “light

- sport

aircraft” is referenced as applied to the Terrafugia Transition® four

- wheeled light sport aircraft intended for operation on public roadways (roadable aircraft) to permit the vehicle additional weight and stall speed such that the Transition® may be treated as a light

- sport aircraft for purposes of design,

airworthiness , production, operation, training, and maintenance.

PETITIONER:

Terrafugia, Inc. 23 Rainin Road Woburn, MA 0180123 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption November 4, 2014 U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Docket Operations West Building

– G round Floor, Room W12

- 140 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590

(also submitted electronically)

Subject: Request for Exemption for a Roadable Special Light Sport Aircraft Attachments: Petition for Exemption: Terrafugia Transition® to Provide Increased Level of

Crash worthiness and Functional Safety

Dear DOT Representative:

For the past eight years, Terrafugia has been developing the Transition® street

- legal air plane for the Light Sport Aircraft market. The Transition® incorporates a large number of features that are not required for a typical LSA, but that are designed to provide substantial safety benefits. These safety features add a significant amount of weight to the aircraft.

I n 2010, in consideration of some of these safety features, the FAA granted us a weight allowance of 110 pounds . Our engineering team made its best effort to refine the design of the safety systems to fit within th e allowed extra weight, but it was not suff icient to achieve the desired level of safety. Therefore, we request a new exemption for the Transition® for additional weight and for stall speed. The attached petition outlines the safety and public good bases for our request.

The Transition® is expect ed to set the highest bar for occupant sa fety in general aviation. T he LSA category will allow these safety advancements to impact the largest possible number o f people as quickly as possible while minimizing potential procedural conflicts between the FAA and the NHTSA that could delay the introduction of features that would have a positive safety impact.

I respectfully request that you grant this petition for exemption. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Carl Dietrich , Ph.D. CEO/CTO Terraf ugia Inc. 23 Rainin Road Woburn, MA 01801 carl@terrafug i a.com +1

- 781

- 491

- 081223 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 1 of 23 

## Petition for Exemption
for the 

## Terrafugia Transition® to provide an 

## Increased Level of Crash wo r thiness and Functional Safety

Contents

Specific CFR Sections for Exemption

................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 1

Introduction

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................. 2
Safety, the Transition®, and why LSA Matters

................................ ................................ .............................. 3

Public Interest

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............... 5
Substantiation of Requested Exemption

................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 8
Description of the Exemption Relief Sought

................................ ................................ ............................... 16

Conclusion

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... 16
Appendix 1: Additional Safe ty Commitment and Features of the Transition®

................................ ........... 19
Appendix 2: Discussion of Sport Pilot Flight Operations

................................ ................................ ............ 21
Appendix 3: Anticipated Transition® Training Program

................................ ................................ .............. 22



## Specific CFR Section s for Exemption

Terrafugia requests an exemption from specific aspects of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section s 21, 43, and 61 as follows:

§ 21.175 §43.1 §61.1 §61.325 § 21.181 §43.3 §61.23 §61.327 § 21.182 §43.7 §61.31 §61.403 § 21.190 §61.45 §61.405 § 21.191 §61.89 §61.411 § 21.193 § 61.113 §61.415 § 61.303 §61.417 § 61.305 §61.419 § 61.315 §61.423 § 61.317 §61.429 §61.32123 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 2 of 23 

## Introduction

The Terrafugia Transition® is designed to be a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) that is capable of folding its wings and driving on roads and highways. Often referred to as a “flying car” in the media, the Transition® is much more accurately described as an airplane that can drive, or as a roadable aircraft . Terrafugia has successfully conducted flight and drive testing of two prototype Transition® aircraft, with first flights in March of 2009 and March of 2012.

Now nearing pre

- production, Terrafugia requests that the Transition® be treated within the CFRs as a light

- sport aircraft despite having additional weight and a higher stall speed than that established within the definition of a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) 1 . This allowance will enable the Transition® roadable aircraft to be designed, manufactured, ce rtificated, flown, us e d for flight instruction

, and maintained under the regulation s governing LSA and the corresponding accepted consensus standards ; this is consistent both with the design and characteristics of the Transition® as well as with the intent of the LSA category

. The primary driver for the a dditional weight is the incorporat ion of systems and structure necessary fo r safe road use in general and crash worthiness in particular. In order to be road

- worthy, the Transition® has been designed to com ply with a number of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) , most notably frontal impact crash scenarios 2

. T he occupant protection features incorporated into the
Transition® to meet these FMVSS

- based crash scenarios

, which are anticipated to p rovide additional crashworthiness from an aircraft perspective as well, incur substantial weight penalties over the structure typically found in an LSA. As a result, Terrafugia requests an allowable increase in gross takeoff weight beyond the current 1,32 0 lb limit

. . This additional weight in turn drives Terrafugia ’s petition for an increase in allowable stall speed. Due to the dimensional constraints of road use (e.g., lane width, parking space size, garage height, etc.), it is not
feasible to si mply increase the wing area proportionally to the increased weight. Based on a spectrum of pilot experience, Terrafugia believes that the necessary stall speed increase will not affect the underlying safety intent of an easy

- to

- fly LSA 3

. Therefore, Terrafugia is also requesting an increase in the maximum stall speed for the Transition® beyond the 45 knot limit found in 14 CFR §1.1.

A previous exemption 4 for the Transition® was granted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2010, allowing the Transition® a maximum takeoff weight of 1,430 lb. Extensive design, analysis, and prototyping work has shown that this weight limit is insufficient to accommodate the design features necessary to provide the road

- worthy level of safety and durability that the Transition® requires. In the time since our initial exemption, the FAA has demonstrated a willingness to grant significant additional weight requests within the LSA category when substantiated by compelling safety arguments and in the public interest . The Transition® incorporates not only similar operational functionality to that described in these other exemption requests (discussed in Appendix 1) , but many additional crashworthiness and

1 14 CFR §1.1

2 The key frontal impact crash scenarios from 14 CFR §571.208 are a 30 mph impact at a 30° offset angle and 35 mph impact straight

- on.

3 See Appendix 1 for other relevant characteristics of the Transition® that improve in

- flight safety. Sport Pilot operations are addressed in Appendix 2.

4 Docket No. FAA

- 2009

- 108723 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 3 of 23 crash

- avoidance features as well ; the fo llowing discussion provides details of these enhanced safety aspects of the Transition®

. 

## Safety, the Transition®, and why LSA Matters

The LSA category and Sport Pilot Certificate were created in part to reinvigorate growth and innovation within general aviation , while supporting the FAA’s charter to oversee and enhance the safety of the flying public. The Transition®

, by its very design

, is po ised to meet all of these goals : to contribute to the growth
of the general aviation ( GA ) market, to introduce cutting

- edge innovation into today’s flight vehicles, and

– most importantly

– to provide unprecedented safety to the pilots and passengers of th e vehicle.

One of the key safety benefits of t he Transition® is that pilot s will no longer be tempted to fly into marginal
conditions for fear of being stranded by poor weather ; instead, they can land at the nearest airport and
drive safely to their destin ation

. However, i n order to realize this additional utility

, the Transition® must be designed to meet minimum safety standards for road use as well as much of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) pertaining to Multi

- Purpose Passenger Vehicle s

. This drives a level of crash safety and occupant protection unmatched in other light aircraft through energy absorption features

, maintenance of a survivable cabin volume, and proven occupant restraint technology

.

The Transition® on the road and in flight.

With the exception of its restrictive weight and stall speed definition, the LSA regulatory structure provides the best home for the Transition® and its accompanying safety benefits for multiple reasons:

 LSA brings these safety b enefits to the pilot population most capable of expansion and thus potentially newest to aviation ; e.g., Sport Pilot Certificate holders . This market expansion potential is seen in the order backlog for the Transition®: it has attracted new people to avia tion and encouraged non

- current pilots to come back to flying.

 LSA allows for a low

- overhead approach to continual improvement of the design once in service

. This will be crucial for maintaining the design in step with evolving FMVSS regulations . It wi ll also simplify improvements to the safety features of the vehicle based on any lessons learned from
the in

- service fleet.

 LSA works with the industry consensus standards process that is nimble enough to adapt to changing technologies; for example

, an a nnex to the Standard Specification for Design and John Slemp23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 4 of 23 Performance of a Light Sport Airplane (ASTM F2245

- 13) for roadable aircraft is already under development within ASTM Committee F37, with Terrafugia’s technical leadership.

LSA thus offers a mechanism by w hich the safety innovations of the Transition® can be offered to more pilots in a shorter time frame and at a lower cost than other certification options, thus increasing and accelerating their impact on the overall safety of the industry. LSA is intended to provide aircraft that are simple and easy to fly. The Transition® is just that: stable and simple to operate

, without flaps

, providing large stall margin on takeoff

, and delivering a simple “fly it onto the runway” approach to landing.

By requesting relief to allow the Transition® to be treated by the CFRs as an LSA , Terrafugia seeks to allow the Transition® to interact with the aircraft certification process, pilots, and maintenance providers and procedures in the same manner as any other LSA. The a ddition of roadability and crashworthiness does not add complexity to the operation or maintenance of the aircraft; from conception, the Transition® has been designed to meet both the LSA standards and the spirit of the Light Sport category as a simple, sa fe, fun, entry

- level airplane capable of significant market expansion.

This light

- sport

- based regulatory interaction is critical to the success of the Transition® and the realization of the safety and public interest benefits discussed here and in the foll owing section s . While other possible certification options exist, they do not facilitate the innovation

, responsiveness , and market growth that is supported by LSA. Both Primary Category and requiring a Private Pilot Certificate add
detrimental overhead to the Transition® program , and therefore serve as an impediment to introducing the additional safety benefits to the public in a timely and sustainable fashion

. Requiring the Transition® to receive a Type Certificate would limit Terrafugia’s abil ity to make improvements to the product based on early field use and to make any adjustments that are necessary as a result of a change in applicable road regulations. Terrafugia intends to begin production with a limited
number of Premier Edition aircraf t: ten early production, “Block 1” aircraft delivered over the first year of production. Premier Edition customers will receive a high level of support from the company. As entry

into

- service issues are discovered, corrective actions can be taken and inc orporated into a “Block 2” design. This is particularly important given the limited field experience with products like the Transition® : there will likely be more need for adaptation based on early usage than with a conventional aircraft

. There
is also t he possibility that NHTSA could require Terrafugia to retrofit vehicles in the field through a standard recall process. Without the flexibility and adaptability of LSA, this process would become overly
burdensome and could result in the delayed implementa tion of safety and other improvements

. Another situation in which the adaptability of LSA is critical to public safety and the success of the Transition® program is that of changing automotive requirements. Terrafugia intends to steadily increase the level of FMVSS compliance for the Transition®, beginning with the Specialty Vehicle category, moving
into the Mul t ipurpose Passenger Vehicle 5 designation with line

- item exemptions granted by the NHTSA 6

, and eventually achieving a goal of full FMVSS compliance. This steadily increasing level of safety and

5 49CFR 571.3(b) states: “ Multipurpose passenger vehicle means a motor vehi cle with motive power, except a low

speed vehicle or trailer, designed to carry 10 persons or less which is constructed either on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off

- road operation."

6 Docket NHTSA

- 2010

- 015423 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 5 of 23 crashworthiness will require substantial continuing investment from the company. Additional overhead associated with making these changes could cause safety improvements to be delayed

. In similarity to the LSA process, road vehicle manufacturers are expected to declare compliance to the FMVSS that are applicable to their vehicle at the time of its production, not at a fixed point in time as with a Type Certificate. In addition to the voluntary increases in safety and regulation that are anticipated for the Transition®, changes to the FMVSS over time may necessitate adjustments to the Transition® design. Working within the LSA category from an aviation perspective makes these changes much more tractable.

Beyond the opportunities for steadily increasing safety and market growth that the flexibility of Light Sport will provide for the Transition®, LSA may very well be critical to the realization of the Tra nsition® in its entirety. The Transition® program progress to date has underscored the magnitude of the technical challenge associated with combining driving and flying in a safe and practical manner. Further potential delay and program overhead, as coul d reasonably be expected by having to go through the Type Certification process, could result in the inability of Terrafugia to continue to invest in bringing the Transition® to market. This potentiality would mean that none of the safety benefits to the flying and general public of the Transition® would be realized.



## Public Interest

Allowing the Transition® to come to market within the LSA category is in the public interest . B oth short and long term benefits exist

, spanning areas as diverse as General Avi ation utility and safety, economic benefit to the U.S., STEM 7 education and inspiration, and establishing a key first step in the advancement of the value of personal aviation to the people of the United States by addressing the largest barriers to
the mor e widespread use of GA for transportation

.
General Aviation Safety

- Crashworthiness

Throughout this document, the benefits of adding crashworthiness features to the Transition® are discussed. Personal aviation currently experiences fifteen times more fatalities per billion miles traveled than occur while driving ( refer to Appendix 1 ) . While certainly some of that difference can be attributed to the difference in the energy of the collisions involved, automotive

- style crashworthiness features such

as e nergy absorption, a safety cage, and occupant protection have the potential to dramatically reduce
the number of small aircraft accidents that result in fatalities

. The value of incorporating these sorts of crashworthiness features into a light aircraft, and the broader interest of the GA industry in the pioneering work that Terrafugia is doing in this area

, has been made apparent at events where Terrafugia has presented lessons learned, including: the Part 23 Aviation Rulemaking Committee in Pittsburgh, PA in May, 2012; the Crashworthiness Workshop held as part of the standards generation process within the ASTM F44 Committee for General Aviation Aircraft in Wic hita, KS

7 STEM stands for “Scien ce, Technology, Engineering, and Math” and is used throughout the education and technology industries as a buzzword in discussions on how to increase the level of and interest in technical education for students in the U.S.23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 6 of 23 in February, 2013; and the 7 th Triennial Fire and Crash Safety Conference in Philadelphia, PA in December,
2013

. When in production, t he Transition® will serve as an example to the GA industry of what can be accomplished with the incorporation of crashworthiness features into light aircraft. The field experience
that is gained with the Transition® will also help drive future improvements in crashworthiness both for later models of the Transition® itself and other products developed by Terrafugia

, not to mention similar vehicles developed by others in the future. Granting this exemption petition is the first step from a regulatory perspective to fully realizing the potential safety benefits of incorporating automotive

- style crashworthiness into GA aircraft.

General Aviation Safety

- Weather

According to the 2011 A OPA Aviat ion Safety Institute’s 2011 Nall Report, “Fatal weather accidents are among the most difficult to investigate, and weather accidents are the most consistently fatal” with a lethality of at least 50%. The Report continues: “Available data do suggest that, as always, attempts to fly by visual references in instrument conditions accounted for the lion’s share of fatalities.” This VFR into IMC type of accident has a fatality rate of 72%.

While pilot training and instrumentation have both been brought to bear by the aviation community in an attempt to reduce the number of weather

- related fatalities, no clear downward trend has emerged in the
accident statistics. This s uggests that a novel approach is required: provide the pilot a completely different, an d significantly more attractive, alternative to flying into marginal weather conditions. By providing the alternative of diverting to a nearby airport at the first sign of inclement weather, folding the wings in under a minute, and continuing the trip safely on public roads and highways

, the Transition®
allows a pilot to complete a trip without either being grounded indefinitely for weather or potentially putting themselves in a dangerous weather

- related position in the air.

Economic Benefit

On average, a U.S. commuter spends 54 minutes in traffic each day, going a paltry 17mph 8 . It is also worth noting that 8% of commuters travel longer than 60 minutes one way 9 . Combined with the number and earnings of full

- time wage and salary workers in the U.S., this represents over $650 billion in lost productivity 10

. Beyond the monetary cost of commuting, a host of health and emotional problems result from long commutes including obesity, stress, divorce, and insom nia 11

. While the Transition® won’t single

- handedly solve America’s traffic problem, it is a key step towards a transportation future that
utilizes personal aviation more and automotive commuting less. Many of Terrafugia’s early reservations
for the Transi tion® are from individuals that have an onerous commute and look forward to the additional

8 U.S. Department of Transportat ion, OmniStats Vol. 3, Issue 4, October 2003.

9 McKenzie, Brian. “Out

- of

- State and Long Commutes: 2011” American Community Survey Reports, US Census Bureau, Issued February 2013, ACS

- 20.

10 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Economic News Release for July 24, 2014 ( http://www.bls.gov/news.release/wkyeng.nr0.htm ) reports 106.6 million full

- time workers with median earnings of $780 per week in Q2 of 2014

11 http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2011/05/your_commute_is_killing_you.html23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 7 of 23 freedom, flexibility, and fun that the Transition® will provide to them. The Transition® is also a “ p roof o f

p rocess” product for the emerging flying car industry; future products that are enabled by the creation of this industry (like Terrafugia’s TF

- XTM) do have the potential to provide a material improvement to the state of commuting in the U.S.

Terrafugia and the Transition® are also a classic example of a small American company revitalizing an old U.S. industry, creating jobs and inspiring innovation in the process. While GA is a quintessentially American industry, the number of active pilots h as been in decline for many years 12

. This results in the loss of manufacturing jobs (including 750 jobs lost , mostly in Kansas
, in Q2 of 2014 13 ) and other economic stimulus from the GA industry. In 2005, this impact was estimated to be $40 billion 14 . Terra fugia’s current forecasts, based on existing order backlog and third party market research, indicate that within five years of production deliveries could exceed 500 units annually with over 800 jobs created. Even more encouraging for the GA industry, it is anticipated that approximately 30% of the Transition® aircraft sold will represent market expansion beyond the current 599,000 active pilots in the U.S. 15

If Transition® is viewed in the context of an initial product in an emerging industry, the potentia l long

term benefit to the American economy of the product suite it will enable could be comparable to that of the existing automotive industry.

STEM and Innovation Inspiration

Terrafugia’s efforts in pursuing the Transition® ha ve been an inspiration not just to other companies within the personal aviation and “flying car” space, but to countless students and educators throughout the country. Terrafugia has invested the time and energy of its founders and team members extensively in educational outreach and speaking engagements throughout the U.S. and internationally. Events have ranged from participatin g in f orum s held annually at EAA’s AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI ; to speaking at TED
Global in Scotland 16 ; to exhibiting the Transition® Proof of Concept at the Boston Museum of Science ; to being the keynote speakers at the 10 th Annual Massachusetts STEM Summit 17 ; to small group student presentations at colleges, universities, and technical high schools ; and much more.

The media attention given to the Transition® and Terrafugia has also provided an opportunity for GA to receive widespread, mainstream, positive pr ess coverage. With coverage in national outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, CNN, CNBC, the Today Show, FOX, the New York Times, and many others, Terrafugia has been able to reach an audience previously unexposed to personal aviation. In at least one case, this coverage led an individual to research the company, reserve a Transition®, achieve his Sport Pilot

12 General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) 2012 General Aviation Statistical Databook and Industry Outlook.

13 http://www.kansas.com/2014/04/23/3418915/cessna

- aircraft

- beechcraft

- start.html

14 Allen, Bruce, Blond, David, and Gellman, Aaron, “General Aviation’s Contrib ution to the U.S. Economy”, General Aviation Manufacturer’s Association, May 2006.

15 Estimated Active Airmen Certificates Held as of December 31, 2013, FAA US Civil Airmen Statistics ( http://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_s tatistics/2013/ )

16 https://www.ted.com/talks/anna_mracek_dietrich_a_plane_you_can_drive

17 http://www.terrafugia.com/news/terrafugia

- stem

- presentation23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 8 of 23 certificate , move to an airpark, and continue to fly existing aircraft and pursue additional certifications while waiting for his Transition®.

By granting this petition and allowing the Transition® to come to market in the most expeditious and accessible manner, this positive impact will be magnified. Further delaying the entry into service of the Transition® by imposing a Type Certificated approa ch will dampen this enthusiasm and significantly reduce the resources that Terrafugia has available to devote to STEM outreach and general public inspiration.


## Substantiation of Requested Exemption

Despite the increased technical challenge that including FM VSS

- based design requirements imposes, Terrafugia has chosen to pursue this more safety

- conscious path. While Terrafugia plans a phased approach to increasing levels of road

- use certification, t he requirements imposed on the Transition® design are based o n those of a Multi

- Purpose Passenger Vehicle 18 as defined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This choice to pursue an overall higher level of safety in a way not contemplated by either NHTSA or FAA regulations necessit ates special relief from both agencies. In consideration of the unique benefits and challenges of the Transition®, relief has already been granted by NHTSA in the form of four specific exemptions to sections of the FMVSS 19

. The safety features required b y the FMVSS

- based design requirements provide significant benefit to the aircraft aspects of the Transition ® as well, both in the operational utility described above and in the increased occupant protection in the event of an accident. In addition to thes e FMVSS

- driven features, Terrafugia is also choosing to include the latest aviation

- safety design features, such as a Ballistic Recovery System (BRS)

– again, a feature not typically found in the G A arena. We are therefore asking the FAA to join with NHTS A in allow ing the regulatory exemptions that these features require.

The additional safety f eatures include : energy absorbing crush structures ; a “safety cage” chassis design that preserves a survivable volume for the occupants in the event of a collision ; and occupant protection devices such as airbags, knee bolsters, head impact protection, and self

- tensioning and load

- limiting
seatbelts. Beyond these discrete features that are atypical for aircraft designs, t he basic structural requirements driven by the crash loading scenarios are far more demanding than those driven by flight loading, even at the limits of the flight envelope. The enhanced structure and the additional components all add weight to the aircraft, which in turn drives the need for a higher stall speed as wing span is limited by the maximum dimensions allowed for road use.

18 49CFR571.3: “ Multipurpose passenger vehicle means a motor vehicle with motive power, except a low

- speed vehicle or trailer, designed to carry 10 persons or less which is constructed either on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off

- road operation [boldface added].”

19 Docket NHTSA

- 2010

- 0154. Relief was granted to certain sections of 49CFR 571 sections 110, 126, 205, and 208.23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 9 of 23 The table below provides a summary of the various weight penalties for the Transition® due to the
addition of these safety features.

Summary Table of Requested Weight Exemption for Crashworthiness and Occupant Safety



### Basic LSA Weight Definition 1,320 lb Safety Feature Weight Penalty Occupant Protection

– Structural
Survivable Volume 44 lb Energy Absorption 25 lb Total Structural Components 69 lb Occupant Protection

– Non

- Structural Seat Belt System 1 3 lb Knee Bolsters 10 lb
Door Retention and Functionality 13 lb Seats and Headrests 10 lb Head Impact Protection 6 lb Total Occupant Protection Systems 5 2 lb Roadability Systems
Fuel Measurement & Containment 8 lb Ground Handling (Steering, Suspension, & Braking) 150 lb Ground Drive System 84 lb Ground Vis ibility 24 lb Total Roadability Systems 266 lb Enhanced Flight Safety Ballistic Recovery System 36 lb Total Enhanced Flight Safety 36 lb 

### Total Weight Penalty 423 lb Contingency (weights shown are estimates) 

### 57 lb 

## Requested Maximum Takeoff Weight 1,800 lb

As shown in the above table, the components and systems necessary to provide the safety enhancements that are central to the design philosophy and value proposition of the Transition® require more than 400 pounds of structure and equipment that are not fou nd in typical LSA. Adding a small contingency to these estimated values (< 15 %) yields the requested exemption value of 1,800 pounds. This in turn precipitates the need to request a stall speed increase to 54 knots.

Terrafugia believes that this additiona l weight brings significant improvements in safety and functionality while maintaining the essence of an LSA. There is no resulting compromise in the ease with which the Transition® can be flown, nor in its ability to both grow the aviation marketplace an d serve as a proving ground for crashworthiness innovations that could eventually permeate the GA industry.

The following discussions provide d etailed explanations of the systems summarized in the above table

.23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 10 of 23 

### Occupant Protection

– Structural

The combinat ion of survivable volume and energy absorption (described below) results in the Transition® having a structural design that is significantly different than most light aircraft. Typically, in a tractor configuration aircraft, the engine mounts at the front of the airplane are very strong and rigid; aft of that structure is the cockpit. Aft of the cockpit ( or coincident with a portion of it ) is the main spar, another substantial structure designed to carry flight loads. In an effort to save weight, the str ucture surrounding the cockpit is typically much less robust than the structure of either the engine mounts or the main spar attachment. Thus, in the event of an impact, the energy of the crash is absorbed in part by the deformation of the cockpit structu re.
This is detrimental to survivability both in that the majority of the energy of the impact is transferred into the cockpit area and in that the occupants can be impacted by the aircraft structure or components intruding into the cockpit as they defor m. By using an automotive

- style configuration of a dedicated crushable volume in the front of the vehicle followed by a rigid and structurally robust passenger compartment, the Transition® lowers the energy that the occupants will be exposed to in an impa ct while reducing injury by preventing intrusion into the cockpit.

Survivable Volume

Often referred to as a “safety cage” in the automotive industry

, the structure of the vehicle immediately around the occupants must remain intact during a crash, surviving the impact loads with minimal deformation while simultaneously anchoring other vehicle components (e.g.

, the engine) in such a way as to prevent the m from intruding into the cockpit. For FMVSS

- specified crash scenarios 20

, this means that the structure of the Transition® must withstand acceleration loads upwards of 30 g

. Compared to flight loads, t h ese crash conditions provide the most severe loading case required of the structure by more than a factor of 3

.
In order to provide the necessary level of structural integrity , Terrafugia is using state

- of

- the

- art AGATE pre

- impregnated carbon fiber composite materials for the structu re. The structure of the Transition® also incorporates automotive chassis architecture

, such as A

- and B

- pillars (the substantial
beams on the front and back of the front doors ) , a front bulkhead that prevents cabin intrusion and deformation at the occupa nts’ legs, a structural firewall and hard points that prevent the engine from moving forward into the cabin, over

- cabin beams that prevent roof crush in the event of an inverted impact (e.g. roll

- over), and increased structural strength along the longitud inal axis of the vehicle.

The weight penalty of providing this fundamental structural component of crashworthiness in the
T ransition® is approximately 44 pounds.

Energy Absorption

While the survivable volume is designed to remain rigid and intact during a collision, other parts of
the vehicle

— the “crumple zone” and bumpers

— absorb the energy of the collision through
deformation. This reduces the amount of energy that is ultimately transferred to the vehicle occupants
, thus lowering the severity of any injur y. This energy absorption is accomplished in the

20 See FMVSS 49CFR571.20823 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 11 of 23 Transition® with front and rear bumpers for low

- energy impacts and extruded

- aluminum longitudinal “crash rails” in the nose of the vehicle which are designed to predictably and evenly absorb the energy
of a frontal impact through deformation . Such systems are not typically found in light aircraft despite early research that shows that energy absorption technology would improve GA crash safety 21

.

Screen shot of dynamic simulation of energy absorbing crush rails.

Independent of FMVSS considerations, it is particularly important to include dedicated energy absorbing structures in an all

- composite aircraft from an aviation crashworthiness perspec tive. Traditionally

- designed composite structures have bee n shown to transfer higher accelerations to the occupant compartment than all

- metal aircraft due to the prevalence of brittle structural failure in a
crash 22

.

T he weight penalty of the energy absorpti on systems in the Transition® is approximately 25 pounds

. 

### Occupant Pro tection

– Non

- Structural

According to a report on aviation safety published by the NTSB in 2011, “about 20 percent of aviation deaths would be preventable if occupants were protected by better restraint systems” 23

. The most
common cause of dea th noted on autopsies (86%) for pilots in GA airplane accidents is blunt trauma 24

. Many of these could potentially have been prevented if proper occupant protection had been in place in
the aircraft. Such o ccupant restraint and safety systems are another way the Transition® provides an increased level of safety and are another departure from basic LSA. For example, only basic seat belts are required by ASTM F2245 25 ; the Transition® seatbelts, in contrast, have locking retractors and load

- limiting

21 Keilas, S. and Knight, Jr., N. F., “Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Composite Energy

- Absorbing Keel Beams for General Aviation Type Aircraft”, NASA / CR

- 2002

- 212133.

22 Jones, L. E. and Car den, H. D., “Overview of Structural Behavior and Occupant Responses from a Crash Test of a Composite Airplane”, SAE International General, Corporate and Regional Aviation Meeting and Exposition, Wichita, KS, May 3

- 5, 1995. NASA

- TM

- 111954.

23 “Airbag Perfor mance in General Aviation Restraint Systems”, NTSB Aviation Safety Study, NTSB/SS

- 11/01.

24 Weignmann, D.A. and Taneja, N., “Analysis of Injuries Among Pilots Involved in Fatal General Aviation Airplane Accidents”, Accident Analysis and Prevention , vol. 35, no. 3 (1997), pp. 571

- 577.

25 F2245

- 13 6.10.223 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 12 of 23 features 26 . A variety of other features are incorporate d as well, such as knee bolsters to help keep the occupants located appropriately in their seats during a frontal collision. These systems significantly exceed those required by ASTM F2245 in both their existence and functionality.

Seat Belt System

The sea t belt system employed in the Transition utilizes both retractors and load limiters. A retractor removes slack to make the seat belt more effective, yet allows the belt to move with the wearer during normal operation. In the case of rapid vehicle decelera tion or rollover, the retractor locks to prevent the belt from spooling out, thus limiting the movement of the occupant. If the deceleration is high enough, the load

- limiting feature deploys additional belt in a controlled way to decelerate the occupant a t a constant load level, better managing occupant energy and reducing injury.

Neither retractors nor load

- limiting features are required for GA aircraft and are not typically found
in them. To function properly this seatbelt system includes not just the w ebbing, retractors , load limiters, and buckles, but also the mounting hardware and structure necessary to react the forces experienced by the belts in the event of an impact 27 . The seatbelt system in the Transition® exceeds the level of safety required for LSAs while providing a more comfortable experience.

The weight penalty of the seatbelt system in the Transition® is a pproximately 13 pounds

.
Knee Bolsters

Knee bolsters are energy absorbing structures attached to the bottom of the dash board such that in an impact
, if the occupant moves forward in the seat, their knees contact the bolster instead of contacting the less compliant structure or going under the dash into the foot well . This simple safety technology is ubiquitous in the automotive industry but rarely

– if ever

– seen in GA aircraft. By keeping the occupants from “submarining” under the dash board and by protecting the femur, the potential for serious leg injury is reduced. Preventing leg injury is critical to the abilit y of the occupants to egress the aircraft in the event of an accident.

In addition to the energy absorbing structure of the knee bolsters, they must be mounted to a substructure capable of reacti ng their loads during an impact. This require s a more subs tantial
dash board structure than is typically found in an LSA.

The weight penalty of the knee bolsters in the Transition® is approximately 10 pounds.

Door Retention and Functionality

From a crashworthiness perspective, the doors provide several functions: they must retain the occupants inside the vehicle during the impact, contribute to the integrity of the safety cage, and be able to be opened following an impact 28 . In the Transition® this is accomplished by use of automotive

26 Self

- tensioning allows the belt to move with the wearer during normal operation, thus eliminating excess slack and increasing comfort. Locking prevents the belt from spooling out during an impact, and it engages the load limiting feature. Load

- limiting deploys slack in a controlled way to decelerate the occupant at a constant load level, better managing occupant energy and reducing injury.

27 See FMVSS 49CFR571.209 and .210 for Seat Belt Assemblies and Anchorages.

28 See FMVSS 49CFR571.206 for door locks a nd door retention components23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 13 of 23 style door beam s , latches

, and hinges. The doors also have a double acting latch (as is standard in automobiles) t o prevent inadvertent opening.

The weight penalty of these additional components and functionality in the Transition® is approximately 13 pounds

.
Seats and Headrests

Du e to its use on the road, t he adjustable seats in the Transition® must be designed to withstand significantly higher loads than what would ordinarily be seen in LSA operations: in any position they
must withstand accelerations of over 25g ( longitudinally ). Headrests are therefore critical to preventing severe neck injuries. The combination of a robust seat with headrests and the other occupant restraints discussed above means that the occupants will stay anchored within the survivable volume during an imp act.

T he weight penalty of the FMVSS

- compliant seats and headrests in the Tra nsition ® is approximately
10 pounds

.

N OTE : Terrafugia has invested significant design resources to creat e a custom, lightweight

, FMVSS

- compliant seat for the Transition®. Without this custom component, th is weight increase would be in excess of 6 0 lb

. Head Impact Protection

In addition to headrests, which are padded to further reduce injury, the FMVSS specify head impact protecti on throughout the cockpit. While wearing seatbelts reduces the potential for occupants to contact the interior of the cockpit in a collision, head impacts might still occur. In that event, the component that is coming into contact with the occupant’s hea d should be designed to minimize injury and absorb energy of the collision. While not standard practice in the LSA industry, much of
the design of modern automobile interiors derives from this requirement. By eliminating sharp or pointy items within the “head arc” of the occupants and by adding padding to absorb impact energy, serious brain injury can often be prevented . Providing FMVSS

- style h ead impact protection is an additional way in which the Transition® provides a level of crashworthiness and occupant injury protection far beyond that of typical light aircraft.

The weight penalty of the purpose

- built automotive foam utilized specifically for head impact protection t hroughout the Transition® cockpit is approximately 6 pounds.



### Roadability Systems

As discussed earlier, avoidance of accidents resulting from flight into bad weather (VFR into IMC) is addressed by the basic functionality that the Transition® offers with its ground drive capability. H ighway

capable steering, suspension, and braking cap abilit ies are necessary to realize this functionality, and help pilots avoid accidents both while driving and while taxiing. Furthermore, c rashwort hiness and occupant safety extend beyond the aircraft’s ability to protect its occupants from the impact to the avoidance of fuel spillage, and even to the avoidance of the accident itself

. F uel containment and prevention of fuel starvation through more a ccurate fuel gauges are both functions of the crashworthy fuel bladder design
found in the Transition®

.23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 14 of 23 Fuel Measurement and Containment

Fuel management is the fourth leading cause of pilot

- related accidents

, according to the 2011 Nall Report. While aircraft ga u ges are only required to be accurate when empty, the automotive industry expects dependable accuracy for the fuel ga u ge throughout the fuel tank’s usable volume, thus reducing instances of fuel starvation.

In order to contain fu el during and after a n impact, as well as to provide a fu el tank configuration for which a greater level of ga u ge accuracy can be achieved than in typical light

- aircraft

- style wing tanks, fuel is stored in the Transition® in a central bladder protected by dedicated structure located below
and behind the passenger compartment. This allows fuel to be retained in the event of an impact

— even a side impact

— and results in a deeper tank, which improves gauge accuracy.

The weight penalty of t he structure required to support the fuel bladder and the system necessary to provide accurate fuel gauge readings in the Transition® is approximately 8 pounds

. Ground Handling (Steering , Suspension, and Braking)

While few fatalities actually occur from ac cidents during the landing phase of flight, such events are nonetheless numerous and can cause serious injury in addition to property damage. By virtue of the fact that the Transition® landing gear ( i.e., suspension) is capable of withstanding bumps and p otholes while driving, accidents due to hard landings, off

- field landings, and suboptimal runway conditions are anticipated to be much lower than for the LSA industry at large. Given the LSA category’s role in training and introducing new pilots to aviati on, this additional robustness is particularly critical.

In addition to being critical for driving, the steering and braking abilities of the Transition® make it
easier and safer than in other LSAs both to land and to taxi. The ses abilities also e nhance the vehicle’s controllability on takeoff and landing while on the runway.

A Stanford engineering rule

- of

- thumb estimate 29 puts the typical LSA landing gear system at just over
50 lb . Based upon this, the weight penalty of the combined suspension, steering, and braking systems on the Transition® is approximately 150 lb.

Ground Drive System

Ground drive capability for the Transition® is provided through a gear box that allows the pilot

— when stopped, on the ground, with the engine off

— to shift between powering the propeller and powering
the wheels. F orward, neutral, and reverse gears are provided for driving , as is a continuously variable transmission to allow the required range of speed during road operation.

29 http://adg.stanford.edu/aa241/structures/WEIGHTS.HTML23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 15 of 23 The Transition® converting between flig ht and drive modes: its electro

- mechanical system is activated from

inside the cockpit when the plane is stopped, on the ground, with the engine off.

To protect the propeller from debris while driving and to facilit ate the energy absorption structure on th e front of the plane (discussed above)

, the Transition® has a pusher

- configuration propeller. This requires a drive shaft from the engine as well as additional structure to support the propeller mount. The positioning of the propeller on the Transition® i s also critical to a key stall warning safety feature
which is described in Appendix 1 of this document

. The weight penalty for the gear box and propeller

- drive system on the Transition® is approximately
84 pounds

. Ground Visibility

For safe operation on the road

– and particularly to fulfill the functional expectation and safety benefit of being able to drive in the event of inclement weather

– the Transition® includes mirrors , rear

- view cameras and screens, and a windshield wiper/ washer syst em

. Between the windows, mirrors, and cameras on the Transition®, all blind

- spots are effectively eliminated. A ll of these items are critical to
the safety of the Transition®, and are not typi cally found on light aircraft.

Not only is visibility importan t for the operator of the Transition®, it is critical that the Transition® be visible to other ground traffic. As such, external lighting including headlights, turn indicators, brake lights, marker lights, and reverse lights has been included.

The weight penalty associated with operator visibility systems on the Transition is approximately 13 pounds ; exterior lighting adds another 11 pounds for a total ground visibility weight penalty of 24 pounds.



### Enhanced Flight Safety

Ballistic Recovery System

The Trans ition® incorporates a standard, rocket

- deployed ballistic recovery system (BRS, commonly referred to as an airframe parachute). The added safety benefit of such as system is self

- evident: BRS technology has already saved over 300 lives in other types of G A aircraft.23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 16 of 23 The weight penalty associated with the incorporation of this important safety technology into the Transition® is approximately 36 pounds.



## Description of the Exemption Relief Sought

Unique functionality notwithstanding, the Transition® is compli ant with both the spirit of LSA and the ASTM standards that apply to them. It is simple to fly, safe, and easy to operate with automated conversion between modes . It has a high stability margin, good stall warning characteristics, and significant stall margin during takeoff and landing maneuvers.

Therefore, in order to bring the Transition® to market within the structure of LSA, Terrafugia requests
relief from the sections of 14 CFR Parts 21, 61, and 43 where light

- sport aircraft are referenced such that the Transition® may be treated as such for all aspects of airworthiness, operation, flight instruction, and maintenance. Specifically, we request :

 A llowance for a maximum takeoff weight of not more than 1,800 pounds; and,

 A llowance for a maximum stalling speed of not more than 54 knots.

Suggested conditions and limitations for this requested exemption are as follows:

1. This grant of exemption applies only to the T errafugia Transition® aircraft.
2. Terrafugia Inc. must supply each purchaser of a Transition® aircraft with a copy of this exemption. A copy of the exemption must be carried on board each Transition® aircraft certificated under the provisions of this exempt ion.
3. Terrafugia must maintain a record of all owners of the Transition® aircraft certificated under the provisions of this exemption.

Terrafugia believes that this exemption is in line with the original spirit of the l ight s port rulemaking and
serves safet y, the GA industry, and the public good

.


## Conclusion

By allowing the Transition® to come to market as a n LSA with the requested vehicle weight and stall speed, the FAA has the opportunity to support the future of the personal aviation industry through both an increase in safety and a potential reversal in the declining trend of personal aviation.

It is well known that the pilot population has been shrinking and that we are losing our GA infrastructure
due to inactivity. T his is due in part to obstacles fa ced by private pilots such as weather sensitivity, high

cost s , long door

- to

- door travel time, and lack of mobility at their destination 30

, combined with an aging pilot population

. From a functional perspective the Transition® addresses all of these obstacl es , as the

user can :

 L and and drive in the event of inclement weather ;

 S tor e the vehicle at home ;

30 Downen, Troy D. and Hansman Jr., R. J. “User Survey of Barriers to the Utility of General Aviation”, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2002

- 01

- 1509.23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 17 of 23  Use unleaded automotive gasoline with good fuel economy to reduce fuel cost s (and
environment al impact ) ;

 R educ e the overhead time spent at the airport on both ends of the trip to shorten door

- to

- door
travel time ;

 Gain mobility at the destination airport (where there is often no convenient ground transportation) by being able to fold the wings and drive ; and

,

 Employ simple LSA operation and easy vehicle entry and egress (which allows for a higher level of operational safety and ergonomic convenience with the existing pilot population).

The Transition® is also in line with public expectations of what the future should bring

, and is attracting new people to aviation. A recently published Pew Research Center and Smithsonian Magazine survey 31 indicates that flying cars are the number one answer to the question

, “ If there was one futuristic invention that you could own, wh at would it be? ” The early pre

- orders for the Transition® support this as well. Perhaps because of the unique functionality combined with the safety features of the Transition®, Terrafugia has experienced first

- hand the potential for GA market growth: 55 % of our existing orders have

come from outside the existing active pilot community (i.e.

, pilots who have allowed their currency to lapse, student pilots, or people entirely new to personal aviation). Terrafugia’s role as an expansive force for personal aviation was also on display at the 2012 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS)

, where tens of thousands of people saw the Transition® and hundreds inquired of our team regarding how to become a pilot

– realizing for the first time that it was possible f or someone to fly themselves recreationally or for personal travel.

The Transition® drawing a crowd

– and inspiring interest in GA

– at the 2012 New York International Auto Show

. The level of interest in flying cars in general and the Transition® in particular should not be surprising given the current state of personal transportation in the United States. While the Transition® may have a direct impact only on the longest

- distan ce commuters, it increases visibility for personal aviation and serves as a proof of process for future innovation that could have even broader benefits.

While industry growth and improvements in personal transportation are both compelling upsides of the Transition®, safety is

– as always

– the most important benefit. As discussed earlier in this document, the
roadable functionality of the Transition® provides a safety benefit both by reducing the temptation for

31 http://www.pe winternet.org/2014/04/17/us

- views

- of

- technology

- and

- the

- future/23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 18 of 23 VFR into IMC, and by adopting many basic techniqu es for occupant protection from the automotive industry. As a result, t he Transition ® will have a significant crashworthiness increase compared to other
GA aircraft

. Terrafugia is advancing the state of the art in light aircraft crashworth iness with lessons learned that are applicable outside of both the LSA and the roadable aircraft niche s . The need for this work and its broader applicability has been made apparent through Terrafugia’s participation in industry symposia
, rulemaking, and s tandards creation activities

. Terrafugia has presented on the above

- described safety systems as part of multiple industry sessions on crashworthiness and GA safety

. Lessons learned are also being applied to the ASTM F2245 Annex for Roadable Aircraf t 32 , for which Terrafugia is Technical
Lead.

Broader public interest is also served by the success of the Transition® through the positive economic impact of an innovative U.S. company creating skilled manufacturing jobs. With the Transition® as a

“ p roof of p rocess” product for the emerging flying car and personal aviation industry, eventual economic gains could significantly surpass that of the current GA industry in 10 to 20 years

– from both a manufacturing perspective and by reducing the burden of com muting . More intangible, but important nonetheless, is the ability of the Transition® to inspire the innovation economy along with STEM students and educators throughout the U.S. and the world.

By allowing the Transition® to come to market within the inno vation

- and market expansion

- friendly
environment of LSA , the FAA will play a key part in reinvigorating GA while simultaneously realizing advances towards its stated goal of doubling the safety of personal aviation while halving the cost of its certification.

32 ASTM WK43684 as of the date of this petition.23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 19 of 23 

## Appendix 1: Additional Safety Commitment and Features of the Transition®

While General Aviation (GA) has made remarkable strides in increasing safety through the prevention of accidents, occupant protection in the event of an incident, par ticularly in light aircraft, remains an area for improvement. Regardless of the cause of the accident, injuries and fatalities ultimately result from forces experienced by the occupants and their interaction with the cockpit environment. The
crashworthin ess features included in the Transition® decrease the potential for serious injury and death
in every accident scenario the aircraft might encounter

– not only for loss of control events

. The need for this safety improvement is clear. According to the information presented in the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Institute’s 2009 Nall Report, normalized with fleet average cruise speed data, GA saw 128 fatalities per billion miles traveled. By contrast, for this same year,

gro und motor vehicle travel saw 8.3 fatalities per billion miles traveled. This 15

- fold difference cannot be fully explained by the difference in speeds associated with the two modes of travel, and it could be significantly reduced by incorporating into ligh t aircraft some of the technologies that have been proven to be effective in reducing automotive fatalities: structural energy absorption, maintenance of a survivable volume around the occupants, and occupant protection through restraint and cockpit design

. These are the same features, among others, that are required by the FMVSS and incorporated into the Transition®.

A key component of the Transition® roadable aircraft’s value

– and of its increased safety effect on the flying public

– is the ability to land at an airport, fold its wings, and continue its journey on the ground. In addition to offering a previously unavailable level of convenience which is attracting new pilots to personal aviation, this capability also contributes signifi cantly to the overall safety of the vehicle. By far the greatest
source of fatal accidents for fixed

- wing GA accidents is pilot

- related 33 at 71.4% in 2010. Of the weather

related accidents that contribute to that number, by far the most significant cause is “VFR into IMC”, or flying under Visual Flight Rules into Instrument Meteorological Conditions (i.e. bad weather), which
accounts for 49% of weather

- related accidents. By providing pilots the option of diverting, landing safely, and continuing their tri p on the road, the Transition® addresses the psychological barriers that cause pilots to experience “get

- there

- itis” and push their flight into potential ly dangerous conditions.

In addition to the crashworthiness features discussed at length in the body of this petition, Terrafugia has incorporated a number of other safety

- specific systems and features into the Transition® aircraft. It should be noted that

– although not specifically included in our substantiation data

– t here is a weight penalty associate d with some of these components as well.



### Stall Warning and Stall Characteristics

The Transition® has been designed to incorporate a novel stall warning and prevention feature that has the potential to help reduce stall

- spin accident scenarios. Due to the rear wheel location of the Transition® being farther aft of the center of gravity ( CG ) than is typical in other aircraft

-- to provide stability on the road

-- the smoothest landings happen with significant stall margin. Therefore, Transition® pilots wil l tend to fly all segments of the traffic pattern with more power and at slightly higher airspeed,

33 Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Institute 2011 Nall Report23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 20 of 23 lower angle of attack, and more stall margin. This fact alone should reduce stall

- spin accidents in the Transition® as compared to existing LSAs

.
In addit ion, when a power

- on stall is imminent (as could occur during approach to an accelerated stall on the turn from base to final), the aerodynamic design of the Transition® guides the separated air through the propeller which mak es a noticeably different soun d, thereby warning the pilot of an imminent stall. There is little that is more concerning to a pilot than engine failure, so this new engine noise that arises from the flow of separated air through the propel ler is a very effective warning , perhaps even more so than the audible electric buzzers and stall warning horns that are typical of many GA aircraft. It should be
noted that there is no actual e ngine trouble in this situation; the different sound arises due to a different load on the engine that come s from the separated air flowing into the propeller. There is also an angle

of

- attack indicator so the pilot may visually assess stall margin.

Finally, the Transition® was designed to ensure a gradual stall progression from the wing root to the tip,
thus avoiding a sudden break and allowing the pilot to maintain roll control throughout the nose drop of
the stall ; this safety feature alone has been successfully used as substantiation for exemptions similar in

scope to what we are requesting . The power

- off stall also has a distinct nose bobble with no dramatic break. These advantageous stall warning and stall performance characteristics of the Transition® further enhance the expected level of safety of the vehicle. The aerodynamic feature that enables thes e characteristics is the boat tail of the fuselage

- wing junction. This boat tail required an extended drive shaft between the engine and the propeller which also added to the increased weight as quantified in the previous section.

Loading Safety

The usefu l cargo and passenger volume in the Transition® is all located forward of the CG of the vehicle

– making an aft

- C G pilot

- load

- induced instability practically impossible, as long as the pilot weighs more than the minimum allowable pilot weight (which will b e included in the POH and is estimated to be less than 120 pounds).

Increased Cockpit Visibility and Situational Awareness

The Transition® has outstanding visibility from the cockpit compared to other LSAs due to the position of
the cabin forward of the ma in wing. This positioning, combined with extra window and “moon roof” area, increases the level of safety when executing turns. In addition, there is an integrated GPS moving map
with an ADS

- B in/out transponder to enhance situational awareness.23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 21 of 23

The view from inside the Transition® cockpit provides notably greater visibility than most LSA.


## Appendix 2: Discussion of Sport Pilot Flight Operations

The Transition® was designed from the start to be an easy

- to

- fly aircraft

– in the spirit of the Sport Pilot
L ight S port A ircraft rule. The conversion and driving ability of the Transition® do not add complexity to its operations as an airplane (or as a car). The conversion mechanism is automated and operated from inside the cockpit: the pilot does not need to perform any mechanical operations to convert from flying to driving or vice versa. A standard pre

- flight is performed as with all light aircraft following the deployment of the wings. In flight, the Transition® is flown with a stick, rudder pedals, and throttle. On the ground, it is driven with a conventional steering wheel and gas and brake pedals.

The longitudinal stability margin is large with an average size pilot at the controls, and very large with two people in the cabin. The Transition® has “h eavy controls” for an LSA. It is a “cruiser,” not an aerobatic or touchy airplane. These characteristics are ideal for the expected operator demographics: it is easy to fly and hard to upset.

From a flight operations perspective, the Transition® is as ea sy as flying gets. There is no retractable gear, no airbrakes/spoilers, no variable pitch propeller, no mixture control, no carburetor heat, no cowl flaps,
and no wing flaps

– just stick, rudder pedals, and a single

- lever throttle. Due to the reduced control set, the Transition® is even simpler to operate than many other LSA.

Terrafugia has had a total of twelve test subjects fly the second

- generation Transition® prototype. Five of the pilots had over 2,000 hours of flight experience each, fiv e had less than 200 hours, and two were non

pilots. All flights were conducted under the supervision of Terrafugia’s Chief Test Pilot and Director of Flight Test Operations, Col. Phil Meteer, acting as P ilot in C ommand (PIC) and flight instructor. This

s tatistically relevant number of test subjects confirmed that the Transition® is easy to learn to fly.

The largest difference between the Transition® and other LSA from an operational perspective is that steering on the ground is implemented with a steering wheel instead of a rudder pedal interconnect or differential braking. During Transition® training, special attention is paid to takeoff and landing technique, which differs somewhat from other aircraft due to the use of the steering wheel on the ground. The use of the steering wheel is intuitive, but pilots must be trained to get used to the transition from flight controls to ground controls when landing and vice

- versa on takeoff. After a few repetitions, proper operation becomes habitual, as is the cas e with transition training for the unique characteristics of any23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 22 of 23 other aircraft. Using a steering wheel for taxiing makes ground handling very simple and intuitive for anyone who drives a car.

Due to the location of the rear wheels (further aft of the CG t han most other LSAs), the Transition® cannot rotate for takeoff until there is more than adequate airspeed for flight. This ensures that by the time the vehicle leaves the ground, there is significant extra energy that can be translated to a higher

- than

- a verage rate of climb near the ground (improving obstacle clearance performance and stall margin on takeoff). The downside is a longe r

- than

- typical ground roll; however, this longer ground roll provides a safe and effective abort option all th e way until l ift

- off due to the four

- wheel stability of the Transition® and comparatively powerful brakes. On landing, this configuration significantly reduces the probability that a pilot will “bounce” the aircraft back into the air, and the immediate reduction in an gle of attack that happens on touchdown ensures that the brakes have sufficient weight to be effective and keep land ing rolls very short.

In summary, Transition® operations are simple and consistent with the capabilities of a sport pilot and
the intention of the LSA rule.



## Appendix 3: Anticipated Transition® Training Program

Conversion

While the Transition® offers the unique additional functionality of being able to fold its wings and drive on surface roads and highways, it remains a simple

- to

- fly Light Sport Aircraft. The conversion between flying and driving modes for the Transition® is comparable to or simpler than the conversion processes for folding or removing the wings of other LSAs that are designed to be trailered or stored in a smaller
volume:

 Electric actuators provide ease and consistency to the conversion.

 Redundant latc hing mechanisms are easily verified during a standard pre

- flight inspection and do not require the insertion of any additional components to be secure.

 Innovative cable routing and stick design means that control surfaces remain appropriately
connected at all times.

 The aircraft’s on

- board computer monitors the entire conversion process to ensure that it is completed successfully and only activated when the Transition® is on the ground with the engine
off.

Thus, while it will of course be necessary to familiarize pilots with the conversion process for the Transition®, this does not pose a risk beyond what is already found in the LSA industry. In fact, Terrafugia’s unique folding mechanism directly addresses several known issues seen in other configurat ions.



### Driving

Anyone with a driver’s license will become comfortable driving the Transition® very quickly

– within the first few minutes of being behind the wheel. The gas pedal, brake pedal, steering wheel, turn signals, wiper controls, shifter , etc. are all as one would expect to find them in a car. The continuously variable transmission in the vehicle behaves to the operator like a commonly seen automatic transmission with no23 Rainin Road T: 781

- 491

- 0812 www.terrafugia.com Woburn, MA 0181 F: 781

- 491

- 0282 info@terrafugia.com

Request for Exemption Page 23 of 23 gear shifting to worry about while driving (other than to shift between forwa rd, neutral, park, and reverse).

Based on experience to

- date, it is expected that incorporating a modest amount of driving into the flight training program outlined in the following section will be more than sufficient for licensed drivers to become comfo rtable with the vehicle on the road.



### Flying

A recent series of two

- person flights in the Transition® have confirmed that the aircraft is easy and comfortable to fly for a wide variety of experience levels : from non

- pilot s to experienced test pilot s

. Terra fugia has used this experience and other time spent in the Transition® to create an initial outline of a customer flight training program for the vehicle. Current business modeling includes five hours of flight training with the purchase of each aircraft

, with a dditional training available.

Customer training plans have been created to cover a wide range of incoming student skill and experience; while the length of time spent on each item will vary as needed, the following six lessons are anticipated

to ser ve as the basis of the Transition® customer training program:

1. Vehicle introduction and local driving
2. Classroom training
3. Introductory flight
4. Advanced driving
5. Traffic pattern flight and ground operations

a. Includes airport entry and exit
b. Taxiing (done with steering wheel)
6. Advanced drive and flight

a. Multiple airports
b. Evaluation

An optional 14 CFR §61.56 flight review could conclude the training activities.

A three day course would be offered such that i tems 1, 2, and 3 would be covered on Day 1, i tems 4 and
5 on Day 2, and i tem 6 on Day 3. T he feasibility of this approach is supported by our two

- person flight experience.

To accommodate anticipated increases for demand in training, and to provide a solution for non

- pilots interested in the Transition® (currentl y, approximately 25

- 30% of reservations for the Transition® come
from non

- pilots), Terrafugia plans to partner with existing flight schools. Partner instructors would undergo the full training program as described above as well as participate in advanced contingency work with Terrafugia’s test pilots.