Anna Mracek Dietrich

Anna Mracek Dietrich

Inventor

Anna Mracek Dietrich is one of the creators of the Transition, the "plane you can drive."

Why you should listen

Anna Mracek Dietrich is a private pilot trying to making aviation accessible, safe -- and a reasonable way to get to work. With husband Carl and their team at Terrafugia, in Massachusetts, they are building a driveable aircraft (or, as they also term it, the Roadable Aircraft), which is designed to fold its wings, enabling it to be driven like a car. In 2009, Terrafugia successfully flew a proof-of-concept model, and they anticipate that Transition, the first production model, should be on the road by the end of 2011.

She says: "The most common question we got was 'You know that's impossible, right?' Now that we've done it, I don't get that question nearly so often."

What others say

The first flight was remarkably unremarkable. I've flown several thousand hours in everything from Piper Cubs to F-16s, and the Transition flew like a really nice airplane.
Phil Meteer, test pilot

Anna Mracek Dietrich’s TED Talk