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CEO: Flying car deal still up in the air

Many states are being considered for plant site, says Terrafugia official.

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By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer Updated 8:54 PM Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Carl Dietrich, co-founder of a company that has built a flying car, gets a lot of calls from Dayton these days.

In fact, Dietrich said he’s a bit “overwhelmed.”

“We appreciate the interest, we really do,” said Dietrich, chief executive of Woburn, Mass.-based Terrafugia.

The “interest” revolves around whether Terrafugia will base its manufacturing in Ohio and particularly, Dayton.

The question arose publicly in mid-February when a Massachusetts journal wrote that Terrafugia “would move into a manufacturing facility in Dayton, Ohio.” The Boston Globe also reported that the company was “very close” to coming to terms with Ohio investors that would herald an Ohio move.

“It was a lesson for me to know that you have to be ... extremely careful with what you say,” Dietrich said with a chuckle. “It was not my intention for that to be picked up.”

In a recent interview, Dietrich answered questions about Terrafugia’s future with measured responses. Dietrich won’t comment on whether he has any Dayton-area investors or if he’ll visit the city.

“Those decisions have not been made,” Dietrich said. “We are talking to many different states (as potential sites), and Massachusetts is certainly one of them.”

Given Dayton’s place in aviation history, Tony Sculimbrene, executive director of Dayton’s National Aviation Heritage Alliance, said Terrafugia coming to Dayton to make a flying vehicle would be the “perfect return.”

“It would be a very welcome return of (aviation) manufacturing back to the Dayton area,” Sculimbrene said.

Mike Davis, Moraine development director, said he has seen no indication that the company seriously is weighing a move to the area.

Terrafugia has one “proof of concept” vehicle that can take off, fly, land and be driven on roads. Dubbed the “Transition,” the vehicle is designed to be operated at any of more than 5,000 U.S. airports and private air fields. “We can take off basically out of any airport with a 2,000- to 2,500-foot air strip,” Dietrich said.

Once a pilot lands, he can pull off the runway, shut down the engine, enter a personal identification number and push buttons that fold up the wings. Then, he simply drives away.

When production is under way, the company could have 300 to 400 workers in five years, depending on market response, Dietrich said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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