Flying Cars Are Here: Get Your Hands On An ASKA™ Drive & Fly Vehicle By 2026
At last, we are approaching the age of flying cars. NFT, a startup based in Silicon Valley, California, calls it the ASKA™. They opened a showroom recently, exhibiting the groundbreaking aircraft for all to see and consider the idea that they may finally drive a flying car by 2026, only if they willingly put down USD5,000—that's around PHP242,000—as a deposit. In doing so, interested buyers will not only be waiting in line for a world-changing purchase but will also get a share in the company's stock and will provide status update meetings every three to six months.
In 2019, NFT debuted the initial concept of the ASKA™ which resembled more of a regular vehicle with wings settled atop that could unfold when preparing for take-off. The previous design could only squeeze up to three people inside the ASKA™. However, a year later, the NFT reworked the design and released a new and more effective prototype—the same year when the company signed a five-year Space Act Agreement with NASA.
By 2021, NFT released the ASKA™ 3.0 which was the same design recently exhibited in the showroom.
The new design of ASKA™, which translates to "flying bird" in Japanese, is an SUV-sized aircraft that can fit up to four passengers. NFT founder and CEO Maki Kaplinsky, says that driving the ASKA™ "[solves] the problem of traffic, the problem of wasting time". This rings true as drivers of the ASKA™ can choose to either drive on the road or fly to get to their destination in no time.
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The Aska has folding wings, six batteries that power six propellers, and dual gas motors to keep the batteries charged. This new generation vehicle can run at a 150 mph top speed and a 250-mile range. Need not worry about heavy traffic on the way to work.
You won't have to think much about parking space, either. The Aska only needs 65 by 65 feet or 20 by 20 metres of space for lift-off, landing, and vertiport.
A flying car like the ASKA™ would absolutely lift you up quite literally once everything returns to normal, including packed highways and busy streets. But although the company is based in California, USA, it would still be interesting to envision a future where we have moved on to welcome a new type of normal in every part of the world.
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