From Gridlock to Lift-Off: Israel’s AIR ONE Targets FAA’s New Lane
As the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) readies its new MOSAIC rule next month, Maayan Hoffman takes readers inside Israel’s AIR, where CEO Rani Plaut says a two-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft could turn gridlock into lift-off. From AIR’s base in Pardes Hanna-Karkur, the company is pushing the AIR ONE toward US certification, pitching everyday personal flight that lifts from a flat surface, lands near home, and folds its wings into a garage.
Plaut frames the bet on electricity as “simplicity.” “The motor is much simpler and smaller, so you can have a lot of simple and little motors instead of one big jet,” he says. The architecture leans on software control rather than push rods and hydraulics, and layers in safety: eight motors, four batteries cross-wired so the aircraft can tolerate multiple failures, and a whole-aircraft parachute. “The aircraft will tell you that you are in a very dangerous situation, and it will land itself,” Plaut adds.
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The specs target everyday use: a maximum weight of about 1.2 tons and a payload near 550 pounds—two people and light bags. An autonomous cargo variant is in development with defense partners to shuttle supplies between bases at a fraction of helicopter costs. Marketing manager Gil Charnes points to consumer interest: a waiting list topping 2,600 orders, a splashy Kentucky Derby debut in 2022, and a footprint “no more than a large Ford” with wings folded. Prices are projected in the hundreds of thousands for the manned version, with the unmanned model starting north of $1 million until scale kicks in.
Hoffman’s full story traces how MOSAIC expands Light Sport Aircraft rules to include eVTOLs like AIR ONE—and how Plaut thinks mainstream comfort with cars can migrate to the sky. Read Hoffman’s piece to see whether regulators, software, and public perception align for personal flight’s next big hop.
