Sonaca’s Post

#advancedairmobility #realitycheck needed Sonaca? Flying cars have been real since the first flight of the Waterman Arrowbile in 1937 and the type certification of the Taylor Aerocar in 1956. Even manned eVTOLs date back to the flight of the PKZ1 in 1917. The Wisk Gen6 is a flying sled, is not a roadable aircraft (flying car), and has yet to make its first flight, while the EHang (NASDAQ: EH) 216S has already been type certified and is entering commercial service in China. Whether troubled Boeing will have the money to continue the Gen6 programme or simply certify Wisk's autonomous flight systems for the Archer Midnight is the #bigquestion, as it makes little sense to have interests in two competing eVTOL programs, given that Boeing is now also an Archer shareholder.

Alef Aeronautics, a SpaceX-backed startup, is making waves with its 'Drive and Fly' vehicle, the Alef Model A, having received close to 3,000 pre-orders. The innovative two-seater vehicle, unveiled last September at the Detroit Auto Show, has garnered acclaim as a promising entrant in the emerging market of personal flying cars. Jim Dukhovny, Alef's Co-Founder and CEO, revealed in a CNBC interview that the company has secured over 2,850 pre-orders, surpassing competitors like Wisk, CityAirbus, and Joby Aviation. Financially backed by investor Tim Draper, Alef's order book represents a combined value of over USD 850 million. The Alef Model A is available for pre-order on the company's website with two options: a USD 150 choice for the general queue and a USD 1,500 option for the priority queue. Dukhovny emphasized that production would commence gradually, with the first Model A expected by the end of 2025, provided there's sufficient funding. Designed for both road and air travel, the Model A has a top road speed of 25-35 miles per hour and a 200-mile range. In flight mode, the range decreases to 110 miles. Weighing only 850 lbs, it falls into the ultralight aircraft category in the U.S. and Canada, classified alongside small EVs. Alef Aeronautics obtained a special airworthiness certificate from the FAA in 2023, allowing the vehicle to undergo crucial trial processes. The vehicle's unique design includes a mesh structure providing air to eight propeller motors, resembling a bi-plane during forward flight. Despite the vision for the Model A targeting commuters in congested cities, safety concerns arise about low-altitude flights over populated areas. Dukhovny remains optimistic, dubbing the Model A as "One step for planes, one giant leap for cars." The company is also working on a four-seater sedan, the Model Z, priced at USD 35,000, set for release in 2035. #avfoilnews #innovation #futureoftransportation #spacex

Autonomous Flight Termination Unit successfully launched during live hypersonic flight test CAES is excited to announce that its Autonomous Flight Termination Unit (AFTU) performed flawlessly on a recent flight of a hypersonic test platform. The flight test was part of a program to validate payload performance in a very challenging, operationally-relevant hypersonic environment. This live flight success signifies a major milestone in product development. “We are excited to expand upon the CAES product portfolio to include AFTUs for hypersonic vehicles,” said CAES Chief Operating Officer Dr. David Young. “The recent flight test continues to reaffirm our confidence in the AFTU product line by successfully demonstrating one of the CAES-developed and manufactured AFTU prototypes. Hypersonic development is a critical area, and we look forward to continuing to develop products that meet the needs of today’s challenging environment.” #AutonomousFlight #Autonomous #Aviation #TogetherWePioneer #Flight #Space #Launch https://lnkd.in/eRNgR4xA

The US government has approved the world's first flying car. Fully electric with a range of 177 km. An all-electric car that can be driven on public roads and fly to avoid traffic jams might sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but Alef Aeronautics is making it a reality. The Model A flying machine is the first of its kind to be officially cleared for flight by the US government. Alef Aeronautics is a California-based green car company founded in 2015 with the goal of creating the world's first flying car. Seven years later, the company unveiled the first flying car prototype last October, confirming that a market launch could happen as early as 2025. The Alef Model A can be driven on the road as well as flown over traffic. Talking about the design, the Alef flying car has futuristic flowing shapes. The car is designed for one or two people at most, but the company aims to create flying cars that can accommodate more passengers in the future. The Alef Model A flying car is expected to cost $2,999,999.

Elbit America, Luftcar Enter into a Cooperative Agreement Tel Aviv: Elbit Systems of America and Luftcar have entered into a cooperative agreement to advance an advanced technology in the On-Demand Mobility (ODM) market to deliver modular Autonomous Air and Road Mobility (AARM) vehicles, providing customers the freedom to fly their road vehicle over long distances, using clean energy. This technology has both commercial and military applications. Read more : #ElbitAmerica #Luftcar #CooperativeAgreement #OnDemandMobility #AutonomousVehicles #AARM #CleanEnergy #CommercialApplications #MilitaryApplications #Avionics #HydrogenFuelCell #ZeroEmissions #LuftCarCEO #ElectricVTOL #GreenODM #AdvancedTechnology #Defence #Aerospace #HomelandSecurity #TechnologyAdvisor #AI #LastMileDelivery

The burgeoning eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) market represents a transformative shift in the way we think about transportation. No longer the stuff of science fiction, personal and commercial flying vehicles are rapidly moving from concept to reality, as evidenced by emerging showrooms and FAA certifications. These flying machines promise to revolutionize not just personal travel, but also offer far-reaching implications for cargo transport, emergency services, and urban planning. The blend of cutting-edge technology and visionary entrepreneurship in this field is setting the stage for a seismic change in our daily lives, fundamentally altering how we move, work, and interact with our environment. https://lnkd.in/gWpa3gqk #eVOTOL #flyingcars #automotiveindustry #aerospace

The skies of the future will look entirely different to the skies of today. Falling cost of batteries, emergence of new chemistries, an urgent need to decarbonize, and key inflection points in autonomous technologies mean that the next 10 years will see new aircraft systems emerge to transport people and goods in a far greener way than ever before. Electric flight will be grounded without a comprehensive and decentralized charging infrastructure. We're proud to have backed Aerovolt to provide exactly that. Since we invested in 2023, Philip, Alan, Guy, and the team have begun building and operating the world’s first electric charging network for electric air systems: a hardware and software stack to power and manage the future of electrified planes, UAVs, eVTOLs, air taxis and military vehicles. Having launched publicly at The Royal International Air Tattoo 2023, the company’s physical charging infrastructure, including 22kW charging unit, is already rolled installed at 7 sites in the UK, with many more signed up for installations. Link to full article in comments. #aviation #climatetech #startup #transformative #electric

Alef Aeronautics is in the early stages of developing a vehicle it hopes will both drive on roads and fly above them. It is a rare exception in the competitive field of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which, despite often being dubbed as “flying cars,” aren’t meant for operating on the ground. “eVTOLs are pretty much electric helicopters. We’re trying to build a car which can vertically take off and fly efficiently,” Jim Dukhovny, Alef Aeronautics’ co-founder and CEO, told CNBC Tech: The Edge in an interview. In 2015, the team behind Alef met for the first time in a coffee shop, where Dukhovny scribbled the idea for his flying car down on a napkin. Eight years later, they are still building. “If everything goes right, if we have enough funds, if the legislation does not get worse ... we plan to start production of the first one by the end of 2025.” Unlike its eVTOL competitors, however, Alef will need to get approval from two regulators: the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA. The company’s most notable backer is venture capitalist Tim Draper, who was an early investor in both Tesla, SpaceX as well in Theranos. Dukhovny said it took Draper about a year to send over a check. “Tim wanted to make sure that not only it makes sense business wise. He wanted to make sure it made sense engineering wise too.” Alef is also taking pre-orders. For a $150 deposit, customers get on a list to purchase its Model A when it becomes commercially available. Dukhovny told CNBC's Deirdre Bosa there are currently 3,000 customers on its waitlist. Owning one of Alef’s flying vehicles, however, will carry a heavy price tag of $300,000. “The price tag came from costs, what it takes us to make one today. We make it pretty much here, handmade, a lot of man hours and so on,” Dukhovny said. Watch the video for the rest of CNBC Tech: The Edge’s interview with Alef Aeronautics’ Jim Dukhovny and Director of R&D Oleg Petrov. #CNBCTech #eVTOL #Alef #FlyingCars

Surely a good investment.

I am delighted to announce that iRed ® - A Volatus Aerospace Company has secured an exclusive distribution agreement in the drone & automation vertical with Unitree Robotics, enabling the supply of some fantastic robotic development platforms, suitable for a wide range of industries. If you had the opportunity to see the Unitree Go2 in action at DSEI or the Emergency Services Show, then you will have seen the capabilities and possible applications of a robotic dog in education, public safety and even defence. Unitree have also announced the launch of the H1 - the first commercially viable (and affordable) robotic humanoid. Looking forward to working with these robots - especially as there are far fewer regulations holding the industry back! If you'd like to know more, please get in touch - tim.mammatt@volatusaerospace.com iRed ® - A Volatus Aerospace Company Volatus Aerospace #robotics #partnership #innovation #technology #automation #collaboration #industry4_0 #engineering #manufacturing #businessgrowth #surveying #digitaltwin #3dmodelling