A California company constructing a flying electric automotive is now taking preorders.
Alef Aeronautics’ flying automotive has been given a Special Airworthiness Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), meaning the corporate will probably be allowed to road/air test the automotive, the corporate said in a news release.
The fully-electric vehicle (with a hydrogen option for the next price) is a low-speed vehicle that may be driven as much as 200 miles on public roads and matches into a daily garage, but it could actually also launch vertically into the air with a flying range of 110 miles, in line with Alef’s website.
The corporate’s “Model A” automotive “can fly forward above the obstacles until a desired destination is reached,” the San Mateo-based company says.
“The motive force and the cabin are stabilized by a singular gimbaled rotating cabin design.”
Alef touts the automotive’s ability to avoid traffic, fly in any direction while giving a “cinematic 180 plus degree view for protected and enjoyable flight.”
Customers can preorder the vehicle, which may seat as much as two people is anticipated to cost around $300,000.
Alef Aeronautics’ flying automotive has been given a Special Airworthiness Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), meaning the corporate will probably be allowed to road/air test the automotive.FOX Business
An FAA spokesperson told Fox Business it “issued a Special Airworthiness Certificate for the Armada Model Zero aircraft on June 12, 2023. This certificate allows the aircraft for use for limited purposes, including exhibition, research and development. This just isn’t the primary aircraft of its kind for which the FAA has issued a Special Airworthiness Certificate.”
Alef first unveiled the automotive last October, and said it has already taken a “strong” variety of preorders from people and businesses.
The FAA is working on policies for the takeoff and landing of electrical vehicles, the corporate said.
“We’re excited to receive this certification from the FAA,” Alef CEO Jim Dukhovny, who co-founded the corporate in 2015, said in an announcement.
The fully-electric vehicle is a low-speed vehicle that may be driven as much as 200 miles on public roads and matches into a daily garage, but it could actually also launch vertically into the air with a flying range of 110 milesFOX Business
Dukhovny and co-founders Constantine Kisly, Pavel Markin and Oleg Petrovwere were first inspired to first attempt to create a flying automotive in 2015, after they realized it was the identical 12 months Marty McFly drove one in “Back to the Future II,” the web site says.
“During considered one of the Science Fiction lectures, Jim Dukhovny talked about how flying cars are finally possible in 2015,” the web site says.
“But he lacked technical skills to tackle such a sophisticated task by himself.”
The 4 met at a café and got down to design a flying automotive.
Dukhovny added that the certification “allows us to maneuver closer to bringing people an environmentally friendly and faster commute, saving individuals and corporations hours each week. This can be a one small step for planes, one giant step for cars.”
Fox Business has reached out to Alef Aero for comment.