The Californian technology company, Alef Aeronauticsjust present in society what they describe as «The first documented and verifiable flight of a real flying car, with vertical take -off and without ties«, His CEO recently published, Jim Dukhovnyin social networks.
That statement, however, comes with nuances. Over the years, several flying car prototypes have managed to take off, although with limitations. Beyond the debate about whether it is “the first in the world”, the truth is that Alef He has achieved more than many expected.
This was the Alef Model Zero flight
Of course, the video you have published (and that you have up here), leaves much to be desired in terms of quality. In it, the prototype is observed Model Zero arrested on the street with a driver on board. Then, after a cut in the recording, the vehicle progresses slowly downhill. Another cut omits the exact moment of takeoff, but in the next shot you see the Model Zero floating on a Lexus parked before descending softly.
Alef He assures that he has been trying prototypes like this for years. According to DukhovnyThe company prioritizes security and did not want to show your vehicle until you are sure of its viability for consumers. In its current conception, the Model Zero It is rather a multicopter drone on wheels, with a body that hides the propellers to give it the appearance of a conventional car.
However, the production version that will be denomination Model aIt will be much more ambitious. Not only can you circulate on the road and take off vertically, but it will also have a cruise flight mode. In this, the cabin will remain level while the rest of the vehicle rotates 90 degrees in the air, transforming its side panels into a pair of wings. If this technology works as expected, the Model a You can fly up to 177 km with a single load, or travel 320 km on land, although at a maximum speed of 40 km/h.
One of the biggest challenges will be the stability and efficiency of the vehicle in horizontal flight. Although the company ensures that all critical systems will have triple or Óctuple redundancy and will have a ballistic parachute, it is still necessary to see if it will really achieve safe and practical performance in the air.
As for the future, Alef Plan an even more advanced model: the Model Zwith capacity for four passengers, 640 km of autonomy on land and 322 km in flight, in addition to autonomous flight functions. But be careful, his arrival is scheduled for 10 years, that is, the year 2035.
The development of Alef It started more than 11 years ago, and in 2017 the company received an investment of 3 million dollars (2,854,000 euros) of Draper Associates. By the way, Magnate company Tim Draperknown for betting on companies such as Spacex and Tesla. As we have been able to know, the company states that it has 3,330 anticipated reservations for the Model awhose price is around $ 300,000 (285,000 euros more or less).
While the Model Zero It does not represent a great technological revolution, in the end, it is nothing more than a large drone with wheels, if Alef It manages to turn its design into a reality, we will be facing a real milestone in the flying cars industry.
