That’s one method to avoid congestion pricing.
U.S. automaker Alef Aeronautics proved that the sky’s not the limit for vehicles after releasing the first-ever footage of a flying automotive like something out of a science-fiction movie.
The groundbreaking fly run starts off typically enough with the black test vehicle — which is 100% electric — driving along a road in California. Then, swiftly, it lifts off vertically and soars over one other automotive like a less futuristic scene from the film “Back To The Future II.”
Flight is facilitated through a system called distributed electric propulsion, with a mesh layer covering propeller blades to permit air to flow through the vehicle, in response to the Each day Mail.
“That is the primary publicly released video of a automotive driving and taking off vertically,” declared company CEO Jim Dukhovny in a recent press release. He compared the automotive milestone to the Wright Brothers’ revolutionary Kitty Hawk video from 1903, Electrek reported.
Alef representatives assured viewers that the maiden flight took place on a closed-off road in order that no people were in peril on or near the flight path.
While previous videos exist of cars using a runway to take off or soaring while tethered, this was the primary footage of a roadster each driving and achieving straight-up liftoff, per the discharge.
“This drive and flight test represents a vital proof of technology in a real-world city environment,” said Dukhovny, who said the trial proved to “humanity that latest transportation is feasible.”
The prototype within the clip was a special, ultralight version of the Alef Model Zero. For the business version, the firm will use a two-seater Alef Model A flying automotive that could have a flying range of 110 miles and a driving range of 200 miles — and is predicted to have autopiloting flight capabilities as well, DesignBoom reported.
The product, which has reportedly been within the works since 2015, also boasts space for eight different rotors that may spin independently at various speeds, allowing it to soar in numerous directions.
As for terrestrial capabilities, there are 4 small engines in each of the wheels that may allow the miracle whip to maneuver like a standard electric automotive. It may well also park similarly to a standard vehicle.
The Model A could have the excellence of functioning as an actual street-worthy vehicle. That places it in a separate league from the eVTOLS envisioned by Honda, Hyundai, BMW and other firms, which have been in comparison with glorified helicopters because they’re only able to flight.
The one downside is that the road capabilities aren’t exactly ready for Germany’s famed, high-speed Autobahn highway system — the vehicle’s top velocity is only a suburban neighborhood-friendly 25 m.p.h.
Other doohickies include an obstacle detection and avoidance system, glide landing and a ballistic parachute.
Prices for the Model A are expected to start out at around $300,000, while customers can pre-order their flying automotive on Alef’s website for as little as a $150 deposit.
To this point, the electrical flying automotive has secured 3,300 pre-orders.
This isn’t the one way the automotive firm is reinventing the fly-wheel.
By 2035, Alef hopes to unveil an updated version called the Alef Model Z, which might be a four-person drivable flying sedan that may fly a maximum of 200 miles with a driving range of 400 miles.
That’s one method to avoid congestion pricing.
U.S. automaker Alef Aeronautics proved that the sky’s not the limit for vehicles after releasing the first-ever footage of a flying automotive like something out of a science-fiction movie.
The groundbreaking fly run starts off typically enough with the black test vehicle — which is 100% electric — driving along a road in California. Then, swiftly, it lifts off vertically and soars over one other automotive like a less futuristic scene from the film “Back To The Future II.”
Flight is facilitated through a system called distributed electric propulsion, with a mesh layer covering propeller blades to permit air to flow through the vehicle, in response to the Each day Mail.
“That is the primary publicly released video of a automotive driving and taking off vertically,” declared company CEO Jim Dukhovny in a recent press release. He compared the automotive milestone to the Wright Brothers’ revolutionary Kitty Hawk video from 1903, Electrek reported.
Alef representatives assured viewers that the maiden flight took place on a closed-off road in order that no people were in peril on or near the flight path.
While previous videos exist of cars using a runway to take off or soaring while tethered, this was the primary footage of a roadster each driving and achieving straight-up liftoff, per the discharge.
“This drive and flight test represents a vital proof of technology in a real-world city environment,” said Dukhovny, who said the trial proved to “humanity that latest transportation is feasible.”
The prototype within the clip was a special, ultralight version of the Alef Model Zero. For the business version, the firm will use a two-seater Alef Model A flying automotive that could have a flying range of 110 miles and a driving range of 200 miles — and is predicted to have autopiloting flight capabilities as well, DesignBoom reported.
The product, which has reportedly been within the works since 2015, also boasts space for eight different rotors that may spin independently at various speeds, allowing it to soar in numerous directions.
As for terrestrial capabilities, there are 4 small engines in each of the wheels that may allow the miracle whip to maneuver like a standard electric automotive. It may well also park similarly to a standard vehicle.
The Model A could have the excellence of functioning as an actual street-worthy vehicle. That places it in a separate league from the eVTOLS envisioned by Honda, Hyundai, BMW and other firms, which have been in comparison with glorified helicopters because they’re only able to flight.
The one downside is that the road capabilities aren’t exactly ready for Germany’s famed, high-speed Autobahn highway system — the vehicle’s top velocity is only a suburban neighborhood-friendly 25 m.p.h.
Other doohickies include an obstacle detection and avoidance system, glide landing and a ballistic parachute.
Prices for the Model A are expected to start out at around $300,000, while customers can pre-order their flying automotive on Alef’s website for as little as a $150 deposit.
To this point, the electrical flying automotive has secured 3,300 pre-orders.
This isn’t the one way the automotive firm is reinventing the fly-wheel.
By 2035, Alef hopes to unveil an updated version called the Alef Model Z, which might be a four-person drivable flying sedan that may fly a maximum of 200 miles with a driving range of 400 miles.
