Alef offers peak at flying car with test flight footage

Flying car developer Alef Aeronautics has provided a glimpse of its flying car under development, releasing test flight footage of an ultralight prototype for the first time.

For Alef CEO and co-founder Jim Dukhovny, the purpose of publishing the footage is the independently verifiable proof that a new type of transportation, “a true flying car”, in a traditional definition a road vehicle with vertical takeoff capability, exists.

“We hope it will have a similar effect as the Wright Brother’s video, which inspired a whole new industries of aircrafts,” he told Revolution.Aero.

Alef unveiled its ‘Model A’ flying car after emerging from stealth in October 2022 and has been taking $300,000 preorder deposits for the vehicle since. The company then received a special airworthiness certificate from the FAA for its prototype in summer 2023. 

The Model A will be capable of carrying one passenger 200 miles on roads or 110 miles by air. With no foldable wings, the car body rotates 90-degrees once airborne to act as a flying wing with thrust provided by eight rotors integrated into the body of the vehicle. A mesh forms the upper surface of the car from the outer edge of the body to the passenger compartment which enables airflow for the rotors.

“We’re much closer to the actual start of production of a first car and first delivery to a consumer,” said Dukhovny. “We added several vehicles to our ‘fleet’, including an ultralight Model Zero, which you see on these videos. Surprisingly we were able to reduce the weight drastically while increasing overall strength, both mechanically and composite material wise. That being said, an ultralight version obviously has a limited range.”

From a consumer perspective, Dukhovny said he is happy with how the prototype is performing in testing. But as a CEO, he thinks the company is moving too slowly with respect to demand for the technology. “We have much bigger plans, and I think we’re moving too slow considering consumer demand and the great stage set for our rollout by new FAA advances, the Chinese low altitude economy and great progress towards certification by Archer and Joby. This is a ‘perfect storm’ which is hopefully coming,” he explained.

Despite receiving a special airworthiness certificate from the FAA, Alef is choosing to focus its attention outside US initially. The main reason is the different weight limits that define an ultralight or microlight, said Dukhovny. “We do have an advantage of being extremely lightweight, so we might as well use it. Plus, I am a fan of an incremental progress, so starting outside US will help us collect a lots of safety data before doing full attestation in US.”

However, there are a limited number of regions in the world that allow for a true flying car concept.  Keeping cards close to his chest, Dukhovny said Alef will keep its list of countries confidential until the company is ready to rollout. “But you’d be surprised in how many major world economies we can integrate into existing rules today,” he added.

Capital is top of the agenda for many an electric aircraft hopeful, especially in a funding climate such as today’s. Alef’s CEO said keeping the burn rate to a fraction of its counterparts in the eVTOL space, allows the company to access smaller amounts of funds which are relatively easier to access. “We also have a very diverse group of existing investors, including VCs, family offices, and angel investors, who support our progress,” he said. “We’re also always happy to add new strategic investors who bring more than funding to the table.”