An electric flying car might be up in the air soon. You can buy it for a cool Rs 2.5 crore
Electric flying car, Model A developed by Alef Aeronautics gets green light for test flights
We all know that the Ford Anglia from the classic Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was just a movie prop, but what if we told you that flying cars are no longer confined to the realm of fiction?
The future is here, and it's bringing us the incredible invention of a flying electric car!
What
The flying car will cost a cool US $300,000 (or INR 2.5 crore), and has become the first car to receive testing approval not only on the road but also in the air.
Picture yourself soaring through the skies, leaving all the traffic and congestion far below.
- Alef Aeronautics, a California-based automaker, has developed this innovative Model A vehicle, which recently received a Special Airworthiness Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
- The startup, backed by Elon Musk's SpaceX, claims that this certification represents a historic achievement for a car capable of flight.
Alef CEO Jim Dukhovny told Business Insider, "It allows us to move closer to bringing people an environmentally friendly and faster commute, saving individuals and company's hours each week. This is one small step for planes, one giant step for cars."
The rules due to evolving FAA restrictions has limited its flight location and purposes.
Unbelievable features: Fact or Fiction?
- Model A has both vertical take-off and street driving abilities.
- Interested buyers have the option to make a $150 (Rs 12,000) deposit for general access, or pay $1,500 (Rs 1,22,000) for priority access during the initial delivery phase.
- Its design is intended to seamlessly integrate with existing urban infrastructure for driving and parking purposes.
- Expected to have a range of 200 miles (321 km) for road travel and 110 (177 km) miles for flying.
- It can carry up to two people.
Dukhovny expects seeing their cars taking flight by 2025.
Top 3 flying cars in the buzz
Buckle up and keep your eyes on the skies because the future of transportation is about to take off!
1. Aska A5
- A four-seater flying car that was first showcased at CES 2023 in Las Vegas, has been given permission to conduct expanded flight testing.
- Currently, the A5 flying car requires a human pilot to operate it.
- But there are chances of possible autonomous flight by 2030.
- Aska initiated preorders in 2021 by paying a fee of $5000 (Rs 4.9 lakh)
- The final price of the vehicle is estimated to be US $789,000 (INR 6.45 crore), and with anticipated initial deliveries in 2026.
- A5's wings unfold, revealing rotors in the middle and on either end, transforming the vehicle into a small fixed-wing airplane, and allowing for short takeoff and landing (STOL) from a runway, as well as vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) from a helipad-sized area.
- Its flight range is up to 250 miles (400 km) and speed is 150 mph (241 kmph).
2. A Flying 'Taxi'
- Joby, an aerospace company, plans to start operating commercial passenger flights in the United States by 2025.
- In collaboration with Delta Air Lines, Joby aims to provide what can be called the most premium version of taxis: a service that connects passengers' homes to airports.
- This service will initially be introduced in New York and Los Angeles, US.
- Customers in these cities will have the option to reserve a seat for air taxi journeys to and from airports when booking their Delta flights.
- It also received a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the FAA.
- With one pilot and four passengers, it is capable of VTOL with a speed of 200 mph (322 kmph).
3. Klein Vision AirCar
- Developed in collaboration with BMW, the Klein Vision AirCar received an official certificate of airworthiness from the Slovak Transport Authority in early 2022.
- This certification was granted after it successfully completed 70 hours of flight testing and conducting over 200 takeoffs and landings.
- Comes with a 300 hp BMW engine, with a range of 1,000 km.
- Can fly at speeds of 190 kmph over altitudes of 8,000 ft.
After decades of being a distant dream, the concept of flying cars is inching closer to becoming a reality. Several companies are actively exploring and testing prototypes that resemble personal helicopters or large drones.
While the vision of owning a flying car is yet to materialise, there remains an optimistic belief that one day our roads skies may be filled with flying cars.