View source for Company:Alef Aeronautics

{{short description|American flying car company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Alef Aeronautics
| image = 
| image_caption = Alef flying car
| logo = Alef Aeronautics logo.jpeg
| type = Private
| industry = {{wipe|Automotive industry}}
| fate = 
| key_people = {{ubl|Jim Dukhovny (CEO)|Constantine Kisly (VP)|Pavel Markin|Oleg Petrov (VP)}}
| products = [[Engineering:Flying car|Flying car]]
| parent = 
| foundation = {{Start date and age|2015|4|6}}
| founders = Jim Dukhovny, Constantine Kisly, Pavel Markin, Oleg Petrov
| location_city = San Mateo, California
| location_country = U.S.
| locations = <!-- Number of locations, stores, offices, etc. -->
| homepage = {{URL|https://alef.aero/}}
| footnotes = <ref name=ForbesProfile>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradtempleton/2022/10/19/alef-reveals-prototypes-for-a-flying-car-thats-really-a-flying-car |title= Alef Reveals Prototypes For A Flying Car Thats Really A Flying Car |date=19 October 2022 |work=Forbes}}</ref>
}}

'''Alef Aeronautics''' is an automotive and aviation company based in the United States. Since 2015, it has been developing and promoting a proposed [[Engineering:Flying car|flying car]] intended to take off vertically and tilt sideways to fly like a [[Engineering:Biplane|biplane]].

== History ==
Alef Aeronautics is a US company founded on April 6, 2015, by Jim Dukhovny, Constantine Kisly, Pavel Markin and Oleg Petrov.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilensky |first=David A. M. |date=2023-03-30 |title=Alef's post-Soviet CEO imagines a future with flying cars |url=https://jweekly.com/2023/03/30/in-silicon-valley-this-ukrainian-immigrant-is-inventing-the-flying-car-of-his-dreams/ |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=J. |language=en-US}}</ref>

The company initially relied on financing by its founders. It obtained further seed investment from Draper Associates in 2017, followed by further investment rounds in 2018 and 2020. Notable investors include Draper B1, Impact Venture Capital, Strong VC, and Luis Scola.<ref name=RobbReportProfile>{{cite web |url=https://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/alef-aeronautics-flying-car-automobile-helicopter-1234767080/ |title=Watch: Meet the Model A, the First Flying Car That Actually Drives Like a Car and Flies Like a Helicopter |date=1 November 2022 |publisher=Robb Report}}</ref><ref name=BloombergProfile>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-12/alef-evtol-startup-takes-flying-car-mantle-from-larry-page-s-kittyhawk |title='Flying Car' Startup Alef Emerges Just Weeks After Kittyhawk Went Bust |date=12 October 2022 |publisher={{wipe|Bloomberg News}}}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Daleo |first=Jack |date=2023-06-28 |title=Alef Aeronautics' Flying Car Design Awarded FAA Special Airworthiness Approval |url=https://www.flyingmag.com/alef-aeronautics-flying-car-design-awarded-faa-special-airworthiness-approval/ |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=FLYING Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Model A flying car ==
[[File:Alef Model A prototype.jpg|thumb|Model A full-scale mock-up|240x240px]]
The Alef Model A is a proposed novel design for a flying car. It is intended as a personal ground vehicle which would also be capable of vertical takeoff and forward flight. Envisaged as all-electric ([[Engineering:EVTOL|eVTOL]]), type, the planned flight range is approximately 110 miles (180&nbsp;km), and almost twice that at 200 miles (320&nbsp;km) as a ground vehicle.

The Alef design utilizes hub motors for land travel, while for flight it incorporates eight motor-controller-propeller systems providing distributed electric propulsion, covered by a continuous mesh upper surface to allow airflow during vertical flight.<ref name=CNETProfile>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/alef-debuts-model-a-flying-car-and-hopes-to-sell-it-starting-in-2025/ |title=Alef Debuts Model A Flying Car and Hopes to Sell It Starting in 2025 |date=19 October 2022 |publisher=CNET}}</ref>

The Model A employs an unusual transition between vertical and forward flight modes. Once airborne, the vehicle tilts sideways, such that the right and left sides of the car become the top and bottom wings of a [[Engineering:Biplane|biplane]] for forward flight. At the same time, the [[Sphere|spherical]] cabin rotates and swivels sideways so that the occupants are still sitting upright and facing forward in the direction of travel.<ref name=ForbesProfile/>

Alef intends to have the Model A certified for road use as a “low speed vehicle”, limited to 25 miles per hour.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Isidore |first=Chris |date=2023-07-03 |title=A flying car prototype just got an airworthiness certificate from the FAA {{!}} CNN Business |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/03/tech/flying-car-faa/index.html |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

[[Category:Aerospace companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Electric aircraft]]
[[Category:Roadable aircraft]]
[[Category:Companies (Engineering)]]
[[Category:Companies]]

{{Sourceattribution|Alef Aeronautics}}