Flying Car Manufacturer Aska Nabs FAA Flight Test Signoff

Aska’s A5—a car, eVTOL, fixed-wing glider hybrid—got an FAA greenlight for flight testing.

Jack Daleo

Friday, June 30, 2023 at 02:39 PM ET

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Aska’s A5 flying car, with wings and rotors unfolded, undergoes field testing. [Courtesy: Aska]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA has granted Aska's four-seater "fly and drive" eVTOL, the A5, a special airworthiness certificate, enabling the company to proceed with expanded flight testing.
The Aska A5 is a unique street-legal, hybrid-electric vehicle that combines vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities, designed to fit into a garage and offer a 250-mile range.
A key advantage for the A5's challenging certification process is its ability to utilize existing road and airport infrastructure without significant modifications, with initial deliveries projected for 2026.

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Though slow progress on advanced air mobility (AAM) rulemaking has so far kept electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft like air taxis grounded, the FAA is starting to turn its attention to an even more complex design: the flying car.

Following Alef Aeronautics’ announcement that its eVTOL-car hybrid received an experimental special airworthiness certificate, another Jetsonian firm, Mountain View, California-based Aska, has obtained the same FAA approval. Now, Aska’s preproduction four-seater A5, first unveiled in January at CES 2023 in Las Vegas, has the green light for expanded flight testing.