• 28 Aug 2023 01:20 PM
• 0

ASKA Lifts Off

ASKA conducted a series of tethered flight tests with its A5 eVTOL aircraft. The Mountain View, California-based company conducted its first successful hover tests in June and has since conducted multiple tethered hover tests. In a statement to Aviation International News on Aug. 8, ASKA COO Maki Kaplinksy said that the A5 was flying as many as five times per day and had demonstrated the ability to maintain a stable hover position for up to 30 seconds.

The company debuted a full-scale, functional prototype of the ASKA A5 in January and, in June, received a Certificate of Authorization and a Special Airworthiness Certification from the FAA. In late May, the company drove the prototype on local streets for road testing (see “Electric VTOL News,” Vertiflite, July/Aug 2023). ASKA describes the hybrid-electric A5 as a “flying car,” one that can transition between ground and air travel and fold up small enough to fit into a garage. In addition to flight tests, ASKA has conducted repeated ground tests of the vehicle on city streets in Silicon Valley. The company is aiming to commercialize the A5 by 2026.