The Terrafugia Transition car/plane may seem like a concept straight out of Back to the Future II or The Jetsons, but researchers want to prove that it's for real.

The Massachusetts-based company's part-car, part-airplane flew for 37 seconds before successfully landing on the runway.  The Transition apparently leans towards being a "roadable aircraft" that is an airplane capable of being driven on the highway.

"The first flight is great, but first landing is what matters," Terrafugia co-founder and COO Anna Mracek Dietrich told Discovery.  "The flight was remarkably unremarkable.  The point of the test was to prove this could both fly and drive."

Powered by regular unleaded fuel, the Transition has a regular steering wheel, telescopic stick, and rudder pedals located on either side of the gas and brake pedals.  A single tank of gas allows it to travel up to 500 miles.

The vehicle is able to go from drive mode to fly mode in just 30 seconds, which is the length of time it takes for the wings to fully extend and lock into place.  Furthermore, Transition needs at least 1,700 feet of runway space to take off.

While Transition is in folded driving mode, it is 19-feet long and 80 inches wide, while six feet, 9 inches high.  It's a few inches shorter while ready to fly, and has a total wingspan of 27 feet, 6 inches, Terrafugia said in a statement.

Engineers will study the first test flight and begin to make slight modifications that will help improve future test flights.

To fly Transition, pilots must have at least a light sport plane pilots license, which allows pilots to fly planes less than 1,350 pounds in total weight.

Terrafugia hopes to have the Transition on the market before 2012.  To date, around 40 people have dropped $10,000 as a deposit for the vehicle that will cost a total of $194,000.