There Are Plenty of Similar Vehicles in Development But Jetson is Ahead of the Pack
The aptly-named company Jetson was co-founded by Peter Thernstrom and Tomasz Patan in 2017. The two Swedes created a prototype eVTOL vehicle during the Spring of 2018. Three years later, the company has just introduced the Jetson ONE, billed by the company as, “a commercially available personal electric aerial vehicle that anyone can own and fly. Our mission is to make flight available to everyone. We intend to make everyone a pilot.” Here’s a video of the Jetson ONE in action uploaded to YouTube by Jetson.
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Technology Included
According to Jetson, the eVTOL craft features a race car-inspired “Spaceframe” safety cell design. The craft can safely fly even after the loss of any one of its eight motors. Hands free hover and emergency functions are built into the triple redundant flight computer/control system. A rapid-deployment emergency ballistic parachute is standard, as is Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor-driven terrain tracking and obstacle avoidance.
Marketing Spiel
According to Tomasz Pazan from Jetson, “The Jetson ONE is built around a rigid aluminum spaceframe with eight powerful electric motors. It utilizes composite carbon fiber and cutting-edge 3D printed components, making it an extremely lightweight design. It is also equipped with many safety features including a redundant propulsion system and a ballistic parachute. It is a dream to fly.” Here’s another video of Jetson ONE testing uploaded to YouTube by Jetson.
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Just How Small Is It Anyway?
The aluminum-framed Jetson ONE weighs in at 190 pounds. Maximum pilot weight is 210 pounds. When ready for flight the craft measures 9.3 feet in length by 7.8 feet in width by 3.4 feet tall. When folded up for storage the ONE measures less than 3 feet in width. The high-discharge lithium-ion batteries can put out a maximum of 88KW to the ONE’s eight brushless outrunner motors. All that electrical activity yields a flight time of about 20 minutes (assuming a pilot weight of 187 pounds). For you speed junkies the top level-flight speed of the ONE is software-limited to 63 miles per hour. Flight controls consist of a starboard side-mounted three-axis joystick and a port side-mounted throttle lever.
Delayed Gratification
If you’re already sold on a Jetson ONE you’ll need to invest $92,000 US. For that sum you’ll receive a partially-assembled kit you can finish building at home or in your hangar. Jetson says everything you’ll need, from the aluminum frame to the motors, propellers, and control system, along with detailed assembly instructions, is included. A $22,000 US deposit will get you in the queue for a ONE, but the earliest you’ll receive your kit will be sometime in 2023. All twelve of the 2022 model ONEs are already spoken for- they’ll be showing up in the United States, Mexico, Germany, Spain, and elsewhere. There are (as of now) chassis reservations open for 2023. Callsign ELROY!
