The future of urban travel

It is called “EVTOL” which is an acronym for “electric Vehicle Take Off and Landing“, Ie”electric vehicle take-off-landing “. And as experts say, this is the near future of our movement within the dense urban fabric – and when we say “near”, we mean: we are talking about a three-year horizon.

Now, a Swedish and an Israeli start-up officially present their own eVTOL, giving the kick-off for other companies to follow.

The One is the new electric flying single-seater vehicle of the Swedish Jetson – a vehicle which, as its instigators evangelize, does not require a pilot license and is extremely easy to operate.

“What we can do in just five minutes is teach you how to fly our aircraft. It’s like one jet ski or a scooter that flies. “And if you want to get somewhere close to it, you can do it too.” Peter Turnstrom, president and founder of the Swedish company for Jetson One, a “personal electric aerial vehicle”.

These words imply of course that Buyers of the flying car will not need to have a pilot license and the vehicle does not require any special certification as it is not officially considered an aircraft. However, as Turnstrom says, there are many specific rules for this type of “light aircraft”: for example, flight is prohibited at night, near very densely populated areas and near airports.

What is certain, however, as reported by the Jetson website, is that with $ 92,000 (€ 80,000) One buyer receives a kit with the disassembled parts of the vehicle.

Assembly is very easy and it results in one 86 kg vehicle with eight rotors and a semi-automatic flight mechanism. The vehicle can carry maximum weight 95 kg and can fly even if an engine breaks down, and also has a ballistic parachute for emergencies as well as a special obstacle avoidance radar.

Once it takes off, it can develop top speed of 63 miles per hour (100 km / h) with a flight range of approximately 20 minutes or 20 miles, with its creators deciding that most of the flights will take place at a height of between 4.5 and 9 meters from the ground.

The 12 units that Jetson plans to build for 2022 have already been sold, and the company is now accepting orders for 2023, a year that expects production to at least double.

AIR EMU is on the same road

In turn, a few weeks ago and the Israeli startup AIR presented, after four years of thorough research, its own electric flying vehicle for vertical take-off and landing.

“The AIR is aimed at the average consumer as it does not require a pilot’s license and they can use it like a conventional car,” he said. Rani Plout, CEO of start-up, which employs 20 people and has raised $ 10 million, mostly from car entrepreneurs.

We are talking about one two-seater vehicle, weighing 970 kg, which will have a flight range of 177 km and a maximum speed of 250 km / h.

“This is a personal aircraft that combines the benefits of a glider with vertical take-off and landing using eight engines“, He continued, adding that it is also equipped with a wing that allows it greater speed and range of flight than similar vehicles that are in progress and look like manned gliders.

Plout also guaranteed his safety, as he pointed out, “there are four batteries. You can lose one battery, you can lose one of the eight engines that exist, even lose a wing but you will still be able to land safely. “And there is also an emergency parachute that can be opened when needed.”

AIR expects by the end of 2023 to receive the required certification from US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for AIR ONE, with the company estimating that it could start production of its vehicles by 2024, while it has already started receiving its first orders, with a deposit of $ 1,000 each.

As Plout said, its price will be about the same as that of an expensive car, just under $ 200,000 (€ 170,000). AIR is expected to launch in the United States in 2024, with orders reaching 15,000 per year.