The flying car is finally coming! On sale in 2026: 240 kilometers per hour, nearly $800,000
Focus
1. Aska, a California-based startup, is developing flying cars that can be driven on both roads and in the air, and are expected to go on sale in 2026.
2. This flying car, called A5, is equipped with propellers and folding wings, can take off and land vertically, can be parked in a standard parking space, and charged using a car charging pile.
3. The A5 has a flight speed of 240 kilometers per hour, a range of 400 kilometers, and a price of nearly $800,000, and nearly 100 people have placed orders. Aska also plans to launch a shared service.
Flying cars may be closer to reality than we think. Aska, a startup based in Northern California, is trying to fulfill a decades-old dream that could go on sale as early as 2026 as a flying car that could both drive on the road and transform into a soaring air, like Back to the Future. If this startup succeeds, the future of transportation will change dramatically.
The prototype received FAA safety certification
For decades, people around the world have been eager for cars that can be both driven on the ground and in the air, but no company has achieved real success. Aska wants to change that. The California-based startup has been working on flying cars since 2018. Recently, the company just completed its first prototype.
The author personally took a test ride of the flying car, and the whole process lasted about ten minutes. But during the tests, the flying car always drove on the ground and did not show a flying attitude.
First of all, let's take a look at the Aska A5 look, it looks a little weird, like a hybrid of helicopter and car, but it may eventually make the dream of flying cars a reality.
Aska's prototype recently received flight test approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the company has completed several flight tests so far. This is the second flying car startup to receive FAA certification this year, after Alef Aeronautics.
According to Aska, the A5 was the world's first flying car to initiate the FAA type approval process. Obtaining the special airworthiness certificate marks that the A5 has successfully met all FAA safety requirements.
During the test ride, Guy Kaplinsky, CEO and co-founder of Aska, said the company wants to revolutionize the way people commute and help people move away from big cities like San Francisco and live farther away from their offices.
"We achieved a series of technical milestones in 2023: the first full-scale prototype debuted in January, successfully conducted field and driving tests, and received COA and special airworthiness certification for our pre-production prototype," Kaplinski said. The data we have obtained from flight tests has allowed us to make progress in type certification. We have completed the initial phase and are moving towards the next milestone. ”
Aska says the A5 will be able to cruise at speeds of up to 240 kilometers per hour and can continue up to 400 kilometers per full tank or charge. It is powered by an electric motor and a range extender gas generator. The A5 can take off and land vertically like a drone or helicopter, or horizontally like a regular aircraft in order to adapt to as many take-off and landing environments as possible.
The A5's tail and propellers can rotate 90 degrees, switching between forward flight or vertical landing. Other companies are also working on electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (commonly known as EVTOLs), but these flying taxis can't be driven on the ground.
Hundreds of potential buyers have already booked
To drive on the road, the A5's wings need to fold inward to create a more compact, road-friendly profile. But we can think of it as an airplane that can fly on the ground, not a flying car. Aska wants to qualify the A5 to drive on local roads first.
Aska's goal isn't to replace existing cars, the company just wants to reduce the distance customers have to commute from home or work. According to Kaplinsky's vision, the A5 usually does not travel more than 10 miles (about 16 kilometers) on the ground, and only needs to reach a suitable take-off site.
Still, Aska wants the A5 to be as troublesome as possible when driving on the road. Its prototype is about the size of the F-350 pickup, but its ultimate goal is to make the production car about 30% smaller, so that parking is much easier.
Aska's early prototypes were rather rudimentary. The interior is rather rough and the doors barely close. But for early iterations, this is to be expected. The A5 comes with a smaller screen instead of a side mirror, as well as a wide variety of other screens.
The final version of the flying car will hold four people, with a more refined interior and a larger screen. But Aska said the production model won't be as luxurious as a high-end car like a Rolls-Royce. This is because, luxury cars usually weigh heavier, and weight is an important factor affecting flight.
The Aska A5 starts at $789,000. The company said the development plan is well underway and deliveries are expected to begin in 2026. If you think the price is a bit high, Aska also plans to launch a more affordable sharing service. Aska intends to start leasing the A5 to pilots in 2026 so they can use it to offer on-demand flights to passengers.
Aska said more than 100 potential buyers have pre-ordered the flying cars, bringing the pre-order amount to $50 million.
Many challenges remain to be addressed
But there may be many challenges to be solved before flying cars become a reality around the world, such as the constant noise that flying cars make as they pass by, take off or land. It is very difficult to design flying cars that are exceptionally quiet in flight, especially in large-scale commercial operations, where hundreds of takeoffs and landings per hour can occur.
Electric propellers and other flying car propulsion designs can help reduce noise pollution, and city planners should consider noise levels at vertical ports or landing sites, but strict government regulations may be needed as a standard. Meanwhile, NASA has partnered with the FAA, university researchers and other industry leaders to develop software tools for modeling and predicting the noise of flying cars in an effort to help manufacturers design quieter vehicles.
Jim Dukhovny, founder and CEO of Alef, said: "Many of the components we need simply don't exist in today's world. For example, to avoid differential stress, we need highly specialized propeller engine systems. Size, weight, and price restrictions will determine how long these flying cars will be available to the public and whether they are safe. ”
In addition, flying cars sometimes need to travel on the ground, which may actually mean that it is less safe on the road. "The hardest part is still the transition phase, where we don't know what happens when a flying car rises from the ground into the air or from the air to the ground," Dukhofny said. Ideally, this process would be very short, but the legal and security hurdles remain complex. ”
According to a blueprint report released by the FAA, the operation of flying cars will first use existing regulatory frameworks and rules to achieve greater aircraft performance and higher levels of autonomy. But the report raises a number of concerns, including noise, pollution, safety, sustainability, cost, and other issues. Who will drive these flying cars? Do passengers need a license? How will "vertical airports" and flying vehicles at low altitudes affect community life? Which jurisdiction will be responsible for the crash in the air?
The speed at which such flying vehicles travel can cause cars to collide with each other or with buildings. Therefore, accurate and scientific guidance of path and trajectory planning is essential. The FAA envisions "air taxis" operating within specific corridors between downtown airports and vertical ports. But so far, there are no regulations on the planning of the trajectory route of flying cars.
Are flying cars safe enough?
After completing the flying car prototype, the Aska A5 has a long waiting process before it can be fully certified by the FAA. Even in the non-experimental category, aircraft typically have to wait more than two years after completion to be certified. Completed models such as Boeing's 777X have been flying for years, while also conducting the tests and demonstration flights required for FAA certification.
Vance Hilderman, an aviation safety and certification expert, believes that even if the Aska A5 meets the initial requirements, there is an ongoing process to monitor the safety process at every step. To transport paying passengers, a flying car must be at least ten times safer than a car. Hilderman said he believes only flying cars that meet the strictest standards will be allowed to carry paying passengers.
Hilderman added: "Everyone has to follow the same rules as Airbus and Boeing, and despite their flying cars being less complex, they still have to follow all the same rules. The relevant authorities will not issue certificates to them until they are proven to meet these tens of thousands of rules, so we can ride with confidence. ”
The size of a flying car also affects how it is certified. In the United States, any prototype of a small aircraft weighing more than 55 pounds (about 25 kilograms) requires special airworthiness certification. The Aska A5 prototype weighs more than 5,000 pounds (about 2.27 tons), which is 30% larger than the final model, which is expected to be launched in 2026. (Text/Golden Deer)