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What are you doing this weekend? Instead of sitting in traffic and fighting red lights near your usual haunts, imagine if you could take your car and fly over the Grand Canyon. This dream could become a reality as the era of the flying car is almost upon us – at least if Alef Aeronautics has anything to say about it.
Founded in San Mateo, California, Alef Aeronautics recently received a Special Airworthiness Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which grants them permission to start testing their “Model A” flying car. It doesn’t mean the cars are ready to go to market, but this is still a huge step forward for the technology. Here’s why this is such exciting news – and how you can get your hands on a flying car in the future.
Introducing the Model A
Before we jump into flight testing and regulatory road regulations of flying cars, let’s take a moment to dream about climbing into the cockpit of the Alef Aeronautics Model A. Here’s what you need to know:
● This car can drive on any urban or rural road. It is just as at home on the street as it is in the air. It will conform to all regulatory road guidelines.
● The Model A can fit into a standard American parking space and garage. Customers will not need to modify their homes to store this car.
● It takes off vertically so it can clear any obstacles before flying. The car holds up to two passengers and provides 180-degree views.
● This car is 100% electric. You can charge it just like a Tesla or Chevy Volt. It can go 200 miles on the ground or 110 miles in the air without needing a charge.
The Model A is technically known as an electrical vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle. We touched briefly on these designs in a previous flying car blog post. The vertical lift eliminates the need for bulky runways and air traffic control towers. The compact nature of the Model A means you wouldn’t even need a helicopter pad to take off in this car.
Understanding the Special Airworthiness Certification
The Model A seems like an incredibly accessible car, but that doesn’t mean it’s ready to be sold to customers. The main word related to the Special Airworthiness Certification by the FAA is the approval for testing. Alef Aeronautics is currently approved to test its flying cars without the FAA treating it as an unidentified flying object (UFO).
This is still big news. Jim Dukhovny, CEO of Alef Aeronautics, says his company is the first with a vehicle of this nature to receive approval to fly from the federal government. “This is one small step for planes, one giant step for cars,” he says in a press release.
When Dukhovny and his team complete their tests, the next step is to get road-safety approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Once the car proves to be air-safe and road safe, it can move forward with other regulatory steps to enter the consumer market.
Additionally, this process also begs the question: what would the average American need to be able to drive a flying car? Would everyone who buys a Model A need a pilot’s license on top of an average driver's license? Or will driving a flying car in the future be as easy as gaining a standard learner’s permit today? Teenagers of the future could be asking to borrow the flying car to take their dates to Miami for the weekend.
The Use Case for Flying Cars
Americans have been dreaming about flying cars since the Jetsons came out in 1962; however, there are big reasons why people and companies should want these cars. Some flying car companies claim that their inventions could cut a 50-minute commute down to five minutes. Employees could spend less time stuck in traffic and CEOs could fly in each day from their villas in Beverly Hills.
It may sound like a pipedream, but the need to eliminate commutes reflects the current fight between employees and executives in the drive to return to work. According to the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), 68% of employees say they would rather look for a new job than return to the office after years of remote work. This jumps up to 79% for Gen Z employees.
During the pandemic, countless employees moved to more suburban and rural towns where the cost of living is lower and life is more enjoyable. Few of these workers want to return to where they lived and their day-to-day grind. If flying cars could be affordable for the average worker, they might be more inclined to commute to the office each day. Meanwhile, more companies could have a much larger recruiting radius from which to hire top talent.
Alef Aeronautics Is Currently Accepting Pre-Orders
If you want to be first in line to buy a flying car (or know someone who does) you can join the queue with a down payment on one of the company’s future models before it goes to market.
According to its website, Alef Aeronautics expects its cars to sell for $299,999. For now, you can join the pre-order list for only $150 (or $1,500 for the priority queue). This deposit is fully refundable if you find another flying car brand that you prefer. And don’t worry, the company accepts Venmo.
The price for one of the first-ever flying cars may be low enough to surprise some consumers – assuming it eventually takes off and goes to market. The Rolls Royce Boat Tail (currently the most expensive car in the world) costs an absurd $28 million while the Bugatti La Voiture Noire can be bought for “only” $18.7 million. Even if you want an off-the-shelf Rolls Royce, you can still expect to pay $467,750 at a starting MSRP – and none of these cars even fly! Considering these high-end options, $299,999 for the Alef Aeronautics Model A starts to look pretty reasonable.
Other Flying Car Brands to Watch
If you love what Alef Aeronautics is doing and want to keep an eye on the flying car market, there are a few other brands you can follow. Here’s what we’re tracking in the news.
● SkyDrive Inc. - based in Japan, this company is developing an eVTOL aircraft that is similar to a helicopter for personal use.
● Joby-Aviation - this Santa Cruz, California-based company wants to create “electric aerial ridesharing.” Its primary investors include Uber and Toyota.
● Aeromobil - this is a Slovakia-based company that is, “inspired by the mythical winged horse Pegasus,” and believes flying cars are the new supercars.
It could be several years before the first flying car is ready for consumer sales. We first covered flying cars in 2017 and the market doesn’t seem to have moved much closer to maturity in the six years that have passed. However, as long as innovators continue to move forward, we might someday have a flying car future.
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