Drivable flying car takes flight for the first time

DEBUT OF ALEF AERONAUTICS’ DRIVABLE FLYING CAR IN THE AIR 

The concept of flying cars has long been a mainstay in imaginings of the future, featuring in films like 'Blade Runner', 'The Fifth Element' and 'Back to the Future'. Alef Aeronautics’ drivable flying car takes its maiden flight in a city field. The development team has introduced the Alef Model A, the dubbed production version of the drivable flying car which have vertical take-off and landing capabilities. On 19 Feb, 2025, its test model takes off, even flying over another vehicle. In a message, Alef Aeronautics CEO Jim Dukhovny writes that the video showcasing the flight is ‘the first documented, verifiable flight of a flying car (an actual car, with vertical takeoff, non-tethered).’ Alef Aeronautics believe they are one step closer to making that future a reality.

The California based company has released videos showing their flying car, an ultralight version of the Alef Model Zero, taking off vertically and traveling over a parked truck. The CEO adds that he’s been asked a lot of times why he hasn’t shown a video of Alef Aeronautics’ flying car in the air. He says that as a startup, the team has to protect their Intellectual Property, hence not showing everything publicly. ‘We’re obsessed with safety, and we wanted to make sure the car is safe enough for consumers before we actually show it,’ he writes. Jim Dukhovny shares with his following that he’s open to explaining what has happened in the documented video, where it takes place, and where they’re heading next to anyone who’s interested.

"this is the first publicly released video of a car driving and taking off vertically," the company said in a news release. The company said the test was carried out without any danger to the public and without any safety issues. The first Alef Aeronautics flying car set to be commercialized is the Alef Model A. Since it has the body of a conventional car, owners can park it in spaces and drive it on roads. So far, the team says it has a driving range of 200 miles and a flight range of 110 miles. The vehicle comes with a gimbaled cabin design to keep it stable as it moves through the air as well as an elevon system to control the vertical and horizontal movement of the Alef Aeronautics flying car and its tilting. The team opts out of adding exposed propellers for safety.

Alef Aeronautics CEO, Jim Dukhovny, said that he hopes the video will have a significant impact. "We really hope that it will have a similar impact as the Wright Brothers video, in the sense that it proves to the humanity that the new mode of transportation is possible. It has the independently verifiable proof that this new mode of transportation does work and does exist. And we hope it will start some kind of a new market, new economy for this new mode of transportation, which we call flying cars," Dukhovny said. At the moment, all the key components on board have triple to octuple redundancy. The vehicle also comes with an obstacle detection and avoidance system, glide landing and a ballistic parachute. After the test model has taken its first flight, the team continues with flight testing as well as software simulators and analysis before the production can take place. Presently, the Alef Aeronautics flying car is the first vehicle with vertical takeoff to receive FAA permission to fly in the US (FAA Special Airworthiness Certificate).

Dukhovny said that buying a flying car would be "prohibitively expensive" as they are not in the manufacturing stage yet, but that prices are likely to go down as more are produced. "The end goal, it should be actually same level or less expensive than Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus or anything like that, because it's less complex," he said. The Alef Aeronautics flying car is a 100% electric vehicle. The team says it uses ‘less energy per trip than a Tesla or any other EV, as well as less energy per trip than eVTOL air taxis.’ While the Alef Model A is the commercial version, the test model is the Alef Model Zero. It is solely used for research and development in the hopes of becoming the actual Alef Model A. It is believed to have been the model which has taken its first flight.

After the Alef Model Zero and Alef Model A, the team plans to develop the Future Alef Model Z. This is a four-person drivable flying sedan. The team sees introducing the upcoming Alef Aeronautics flying car in 2035. They say it can fly 200 miles with a driving range of 400 miles. This version is expected to have autonomous flight capabilities as well, unlike its predecessors. So far, the production of actual Alef Aeronautics flying car has yet to come. The vehicle comes with a gimbaled cabin design to keep it stable as it moves through the air. The model is a 100% electric vehicle. "It's hard to estimate when as far as the exact year, but I think is going to be a very, very gradual process," Dukhovny said. So when will flying cars become a reality and not something featured in futuristic films?