In grade school, way back in the 1960s, I thought we would have flying cars within 30 or 40 years. I called them PFVs. My vision was way too early. But they have finally arrived.
Flying Car Prototype Gets Airworthiness Certificate From the FAA
CNN reports Flying Car Prototype Gets Airworthiness Certificate From the FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration has certified for testing a vehicle that a California startup describes as a flying car, the first fully electric vehicle that can both fly and travel on roads to receive US government approval.
Alef Automotive said that its vehicle/aircraft, dubbed the “Model A,” is the first flying vehicle that is drivable on public roads and able to park like a normal car. It also has vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. It apparently will be able to carry one or two occupants and will have a road-range of 200 miles and a flying range of 110 miles.
The company expects to sell the vehicle for $300,000 each with the first delivery by projected for the end of 2025.
“AirCar is no longer just a proof of concept,” Zajac said in the press release. “It has turned science fiction into a reality.”
The company is working on a model called AirCar Prototype 2, which will boast a 300 horsepower engine.
It is expected to be able to cruise at 300 kilometers per hour (186 miles per hour) and have a range of 1,000 kilometers (621 miles).
In August 2020, Japanese company Sky Drive Inc. conducted Japan’s first public demonstration of a flying vehicle. The car took off from Toyota Test Field and circled for around four minutes.
Flying Car Completes First Ever Inter-City Flight
The Model A
Here is a more recent video.
PFVs Have Arrived
The vehicle is certified what about the [driver/flyer/pilot]? The word car does not seem appropriate.
I am pleased to report PFVs have arrived, including FAA certification. The $300,000 cost is much cheaper than I would have guessed a few years ago.
I wonder how much training you need top fly one of these vehicles.
By the way, I have always been convinced that UFO were nothing more than tests of such vehicles and other top secret military prototypes, not space aliens.
Addendum
A reader commented: “I’m surprised this got approval. Where is it supposed to land? It must need an airport, and I am sure air traffic control really needs more small flying objects to monitor, no? And whereas driving is relatively easy to learn, flying needs time and experience. The first one of these flying cars to knock off a wing or stabilizer from a commercial jet may prompt a lot of regulation, not to mention alarm in the aviation insurance business.”
My reply: I am surprised too. I nearly gave up on my PFV idea because of approvals and cost.
But the FAA gave approval and many people would spend $300,000 just to say they have one, and to hop over traffic blockages. There are plenty of spots in Death Valley, Utah desert, and Colorado mountains, etc., where there are roads but bad ones, where I would love to have one of these. It could take hours off getting to good photography locations.
It does not need an airport, it has wheels and can move in regular traffic on roads. I suspect there will be height restrictions and things like no flying over houses. Perfect for me.
I want my own PFV now. Supposedly, they will be available in 2025. Amazing. It is certified for testing not actual use, but that will come.
I do hope that a certificate from a medical physical is required for pilot/driver licensing.
This development dovetails nicely with the de-population agenda.
Can you imagine with how people drive terrestrial cars, how badly they will be crashing into houses and 777s in midair. Look for new Fast and Furious PFV next year. Midair crashes, buzzes and more!
The only way these will work in mass is if they develop software to enable hands free flying. All the flying cars would be in communication with all the other cars letting them know they’re destination. In the event of a glitch, all the cars land and don’t allow flying.
“Supposedly, they will be available in 2025.”
Magical fairydust will also be available in the future. Supposedly.
These things have barely even prototype lifted off. Have you ever seen the amount of testing required of something as mundane as a Corolla, just because the rim size have been changed?
Solotrek was much, much less ambitious. Much more serious. Much more fundamentally sound. Hence, at least on the face of it, possibly realistic. And had seriously heavy hitters involved. They had me fooled for a bit. As well as, obviously, some of those hitters (of which I am not one…) Trying to load one up with road legal hardware for operation on Autobahns…….. Collision tests…..
It’s so far beyond plain ridiculous, than only someone gullible enough to fall for “self driving cars” could ever be suckered into falling for it.
Heck; even among those: You’d think it would be a red flag that even the Elon who never read a scifi short story he didn’t blindly believe was reality, hasn’t stooped quite this low? Instead dreaming of; still silly of course, just a bit less so; air evacuated tunnels to pass his fantasy cars around in…
People who have FSD on Tesla’s have gone days of not having to intervene. And FSD is far safer than not. The car can react much faster than a person and sees everything. Not saying driverless taxis are about to become real, but it’s not far fetched to exist in 5 years or so.
I have the bottom of the line free self driving on my tesla and I can go hours on a highway letting it steer. I just have to jiggle the wheel every few minutes to let it know I’m there.
A few minutes?
That’s not enough time to crawl in the back seat for a quickie.
These would be pretty cool to use in rural areas. I do a little prospecting for fun and these would be great. For now I’ll stick to my electric bike for getting deep into the wilds on crappy dirt roads to shorten the walking times.
I see no problems at all with thousands of partially- or un-trained driver/pilots cruising willy nilly around crowded urban areas trying to beat ground traffic. No problems at all. After all, flying’s easy, right? Step on the gas and >voila!< you're airborne!
lol
I’m surprised this got approval. Where is it supposed to land? It must need an airport, and I am sure air traffic control really needs more small flying objects to monitor, no? And whereas driving is relatively easy to learn, flying needs time and experience. The first one of these flying cars to knock off a wing or stabilizer from a commercial jet may prompt a lot of regulation, not to mention alarm in the aviation insurance business.
I am surprised too. I nearly gave up on my PFV idea because of approvals and cost.
But the FAA gave approval and many people would spend $300,000 just to say they have one, and to hop over traffic blockages. There are plenty of spots in Death Valley, Utah desert, and Colorado mountains, etc., where there are roads but bad ones, where I would love to have one of these. It could take hours off getting to good photography locations.
It does not need an airport, it has wheels and can move in regular traffic on roads. Perfect for me. I suspect there will be height restrictions and things link no flying over houses.
I want one now.
They will need an airport.
I can land my Cessna on a road, too. It’s illegal unless there is an emergency.
Federal Aviation Regulations prohibit flight within 500 feet of any structure and 1000 feet over populated areas.
Is this really available? Sounds like yet another test. 10 more years?
Available in 2 years
Yep, I just noticed that. Thanks. I hope it pans out.
Yep, more vaporware, from the article: “The company expects to sell the vehicle for $300,000 each with the first delivery by projected for the end of 2025. “
Ahhh, the future, where 19 yr old kids will fly overhead weave in an out of lanes to cut you off in rush hour 500 feet above ground.
I am becoming convinced these idiot news of flying cars, space-jetting billionaires, and Mars-hopping travel are just manufactured to distract the plebs from their daily problems which are a plenty.
Either that or it’s a well orchestrated massive sociological study.
Spot on! I was thinking along the same lines.
People tend to look at the good these things can do but I often jump straight to the possible negative possibilities (for the risk perspective).
So how long before someone straps 500 lbs of TNT on one of these things and slams it into a building, concert, political gathering (RNC/DNC), bridge, or other structure?
Instead of one 9/11 we’ll have weekly 9/11s the way we have weekly mass shootings. I am actually surprised this hasn’t already happened with smaller drones but videos from Ukraine-Russia conflict shows drones dropping bombs on tanks and troops all the time.
And can these be used to bring more immigrants or drugs into the country? Asking for a friend.
At $300k/pop, it won’t take that long to make these things to pay for themselves. The profits will be amazing.
If you want to haul illegals or drugs it’s vastly cheaper to just buy a small plane or helicopter, both of which can be had for 100K or so. No need to spend 300K on something with limited range.
I don’t think you understand how much planes or helicopters cost. Cheap Cessna’s built before 1980 might cost under 100k and pray that it was well maintained but anything built after 2000 will easily run you 500k or way more.
https://www.aerotrader.com/Cessna/aircraft-for-sale?make=Cessna%7C2237190
I have a friend here who I play hockey with. He’s a small business owner (owns rental units). He’s wealthy but not crazy rich and he owns a small plane and helicopter because he likes to fly. He essentially sold his Audi R8 to pay for his plane.
https://www.controller.com/listings/search?Category=433&Price=%2A100000
Plenty of stuff under 100K and only 10 years old. This is what he has.
Then just for fun there are all the ultralight aircraft with no pilot’s license.
Same could be said of cars by the horse n’ buggy lobby, a 1 ton projectile moving +50 miles an hour, residential buildings all over….
People already drive like A$$holes. This just adds a whole new dimension!
Correct – going from 2D to 3D!
One can only hope that the licensing requirement will be more stringent than for piloting automobiles.
What’s stopping someone from loading a plane with 500 lbs of TNT and crashing it into a building?
500 lbs may be above the permitted loading.
And I have heard that TNT is hard to come by, although I’m not sure.
What an impractical thing:
– How much will this cost to insure? Who will insure it? NOBODY.
– There is no such thing as a small fender bender with this thing. Anyone rear ends you and it’s totaled for sure. Do you think their insurance will cover it? Can’t get blood from a turnip.
– It’s neither a good car nor a good plane. For the ridiculous price of $300k I can get a very nice plane and a very nice sports car.
As for UFOs being some piece of crap like this, it amazes me that anyone could be so foolish. Did you not see the video from Lt Cmdr David Fravor’s F18 Hornet?? That vehicle accelerated with g force of 1300 Gs. Max G force load for an F18 is 15. That “tic tac” was caught on RADAR going 25,000 mph. Mish, get out more. Really.
I was thinking the same thing. There’s ne explanation for how they move or how fast they move. Some have been seen going in and out of the ocean.
My close friend works on air-traffic-control issues for both the military and FAA. He said drones are enough of a headache insuring safe airspace. These ‘flying cars’ will just exacerbate the problem.
Can’t wait for someone to fly one of these into my house because they were too busy taking TikTok videos or texting on their phone.
What is the advantages of having a car to which a contraption can be attached that enables into fly? I’m sure the end result Is a suboptimal car and suboptimal airplane.
Beating traffic.
It’s why the ultra rich take helicopter rides everywhere.
I’m sure that smugglers will think of plenty of “cost effective” uses for a $300,000 vehicle like this. They just need a nice big van roaming a deserted road to transfer the merchandise at the delivery end and “continue” their “innocent” flight into the USA from Canada or Mexico (or Columbia or Venezuela, etc. depending on this car’s range) to the destination on their flight plan where customs awaits them. A vehicle like this flying car can fly below radar, so there is no way to easily track it, unless the FAA requires a GPS device on it that CANNOT be turned off when the motor is running.
I am a retired FAA Air Traffic Controller and former air taxi pilot. I know how this works. The police will be watching every single one of these exotic cars like a hawk but that won’t stop crooks from making quick flights from Mexico to Texas or a hop from one island,
to another, and back, in the Caribbean.