The San Mateo-based tech company Alef Aeronautics has recently signed a lease to test its flying cars at the Hollister airport. BenitoLink reporter Noe Magaña wrote about the deal here. He previously wrote about a grant that will help four Monterey Bay area airports create a corridor for electric aircraft.
Magaña spoke with KAZU's Amy Mayer.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Amy Mayer, KAZU: Alef, says it's building flying cars. So to start with, did you get to see a flying car?
Noe Magaña, BenitoLink: Unfortunately, I did not get to see a flying car. I considered camping out there, by the airport, just to see if I [could] get a glimpse of it. But, uh, no. I hope that maybe in the future I will.
AM: We're talking about these electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and Alef's not the only company, and Hollister's not the only airport. But, what do you know about why Hollister was a desirable airport for this company?
NM: I think based on the location of Hollister and San Mateo, it kind of made sense for them to get away from the urban area and come to a rural area that provided the environment that they needed to continue testing their cars.
AM: Is there yet any understanding of how the city of Hollister or the airport might benefit from the company being there?
NM: I think they hope that if it's successful, that it'll attract other companies to the airport and increase economic development in the area.
AM: And Hollister's not the only airport that's flirting with some of these electric flying technologies. It was part of a grant that several airports, including Watsonville, Salinas, and Marina are all a part of. What's going to be the connection among these airports and electric vehicles? Do you know yet?
NM: My understanding is that these companies want, or need, some sort of corridor in which they can further test their equipment and see how long they can maybe push, or safely push, their technology… so have, like, stops in between where they can recharge and then go back to the starting place.
AM: Have you heard very much from either the airport or other economic development or Monterey Bay Economic Partnership officials about the significance of the corridor?
NM: The hope is that they can sort of make a pathway that'll benefit those companies that are testing either flying cars or autonomous aircraft, that it would not only incentivize them to continue to pursue those technologies and test them and expand, but also increase the amount of companies that are looking into it and [making] their home base here in this area.
AM: Any idea what's next, either for the Hollister airport specifically, or more generally for the partnership?
NM: Well, I think for Hollister Airport specifically, the idea is they approved a one month lease to test it out, see how that partnership would go, and then they would go back and look at what worked, what didn't work and potentially expand it if both parties are happy with it.
AM: Do you anticipate there are going to be people in Hollister camping out, as you alluded to, to try to catch a glimpse of these flying cars?
NM: I have not heard any sort of rumors or anything like that, that people are interested in camping out outside the airport just to see if they get a glimpse of the flying car. But the airport is right next to a dog park, so you might start catching video taken by people who are there, who upload it to social media, if they get a glimpse of it.
Noe Magaña’s related BenitoLink stories:
Alef Aeronautics gets go-ahead to test its flying car in Hollister
Hollister Municipal Airport to use grant funds to support new aviation technology
