Aircraft

Jetson One personal eVTOL looks like a ton of fun to fly

Jetson One personal eVTOL looks like a ton of fun to fly
The Jetson One flies along at highway speeds, with LiDAR-enabled obstacle avoidance
The Jetson One flies along at highway speeds, with LiDAR-enabled obstacle avoidance
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The Jetson One flies along at highway speeds, with LiDAR-enabled obstacle avoidance
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The Jetson One flies along at highway speeds, with LiDAR-enabled obstacle avoidance
Eight rotors are mounted coaxially on four arms
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Eight rotors are mounted coaxially on four arms
There appears to be some sort of prop guard kit under development, but it'll still be a pretty effective blender
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There appears to be some sort of prop guard kit under development, but it'll still be a pretty effective blender
Jetson's put together some of the first really fun-looking video we've seen for the Jetson One
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Jetson's put together some of the first really fun-looking video we've seen for the Jetson One
View gallery - 4 images

If anyone can think of a more perfect name for a personal eVTOL, we're listening! Sweden's Jetson Aero has already sold out the 2022 production run of this cute little single-seat kit build, which is capable of zooming along at 63 mph (102 km/h).

The Jetson One is a simple design purely dedicated to muckin' about and having fun. Its single seat is suspended in an aluminum/carbon fiber spaceframe. It's a straight-up drone-style multicopter, with eight props mounted coaxially on four arms, putting out a total peak of 88 kW (118 horsepower). Jetson says it'll fly safely if one motor dies, but frankly I'd be more interested in landing safely at that point.

The pilot flies it with a throttle lever on the left, a joystick on the right, and a pair of pedals, presumably controlling yaw. There's some very basic system information displayed on a little dash that frankly looks like a smartphone in a cradle.

Jetson's put together some of the first really fun-looking video we've seen for the Jetson One
Jetson's put together some of the first really fun-looking video we've seen for the Jetson One

The triple-redundant flight computers will simply hover in place or perform an emergency landing if you let go of the sticks, and the system endeavors to keep pilots out of trouble using LiDAR-enabled terrain tracking and obstacle avoidance. The last line of defense is a rapidly deployable ballistic parachute, but boy oh boy, we wouldn't want to find ourselves needing that.

It's reasonably compact at 2845 mm x 2400 mm x 1030 mm (112 x 95 x 41 inches), and the prop arms are designed to fold in as well, leaving it not much bigger than a touring motorcycle in your garage. It's lightweight for its size, but at 90 kg (198 lb) it's the sort of thing you'll probably need help moving around.

Jetson is selling these things as home-built kits, 50 percent assembled, and presumably owners will be able to fly them about on a private pilot's license in the USA as experimental/home built aircraft. It appears there'll be an option to add some bumper bars that might help keep kids, dogs and unsuspecting pedestrians away from the spinning props, but there's going to be a lot of rapidly spinning carbon fiber in the air near the pilot's head and shoulders in a crash either way.

There appears to be some sort of prop guard kit under development, but it'll still be a pretty effective blender
There appears to be some sort of prop guard kit under development, but it'll still be a pretty effective blender

Jetson has filmed some terrific video of a guy flying one of these things around. Wisely, they've stayed close to the ground, so there's a real sense of dynamic motion to the footage and it just looks like brilliant fun. That might end up being a relatively safe and entertaining way to fly these things too, like zero-gravity dune buggies.

Mind you, the pilot deliberately gets pretty damn close to some trees, so either he really trusts that obstacle avoidance system, or he's got it switched off, or else it doesn't stop you from flying into trees, which I'd personally consider a problem. I've never flown a personal eVTOL, but I think I'd like it best when it wasn't flying into trees.

The flight endurance is pretty disappointing: an 85 kg (187 lb) pilot can expect just 15 minutes of airborne giggles before the battery needs to go back on the charger, presumably for a decent chunk of time. Fifteen minutes is a long time if you're holding your breath, but it's not a long time if you're trying to master and enjoy your new US$92,000 toy. Yes, $92,000, with $22,000 down as a deposit to reserve a build slot. So it ain't cheap for something you can't take your kids in.

And finally, as we mentioned at the top, Jetson's already sold out its entire 2022 production run of 12 units. At this stage there appear to be only three slots left for 2023.

Still, it's a working personal buy 'n' fly eVTOL with a price tag and a production schedule, that you can have in your own shed within two years. That puts it on a very short list. And Jetson has done a great job of capturing what these things might feel like to fly, so enjoy that aerial video below!

Jetson ONE - Official Launch

Source: Jetson Aero

View gallery - 4 images
34 comments
34 comments
gonk
Do I want to fly this? Abso-frickin-lutely. Would I almost certainly die? Abso-frickin-lutely.
dan
@ginkoweed: for very good reason the pilot stays within proximity of the ground effect. But, yeah, an engine failure, bird strike (or hopping rabbit) or energy loss etc. - even from a couple of meters - could do harm. But I like the approach: simple, small, with safety cache. And yes, 10 min flight time is what todays battery can offer. but that's for most eVTOL the same story. Therefore, this and others eVTOLs are fun toys, but really good-ones for the braves.
Chris Coles
Remove the battery, fit one of those innovative rotary engine generators and a fuel tank . . . job done!
anthony88
Stuff the kids! They can buy their own when they're old enough. Not coming with me!
Captain Danger
That looks like a blast.
Add some laser cannons and receivers and you can have your own personal dog fights with your like minded buddies.
Steven Clarkson
A TON of fun INDEED ! Nice one Loz.
Bring the price down the shove the sign up link in my face ! ! !
Steven Clarkson
@dan
Not at all he can go up 1000s of feet safely.. is it allowed though NO.

Secondly any small aircraft will be affected by a bird strike this evtol is Y configured so the bird would have to stop 2 motors dead before this would be an issue. 15 minutes is not to rave about but 15 minutes charging time IS !
Prices is outragious however has it really been sold out ?

@chris coles
No thanks no heavy stove stoker needed to power this machine 15 minutes is fine witj a 15 minutes charge time, want more flying time, simply get another battery.
Vince Caruso
With a tank full of Green Ammonia (zero carbon fuel) you could go a long way and very quick fill up when needed. Air bags would be nice also.
mediabeing
Cute, until folks start showing up at the emergency room with massive blade cuts.
There should be spherical protectors around all 4 prop units. Phooey!
John Ouillette
Typical electric letdown, far too expensive for what you get and not near enough range. $92k can buy a lot of different types of aircraft.
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