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A veteran of the luxury-car industry, Ternström partnered with aerospace engineer Tomasz Patan to introduce Jetson in 2017.
Instead of focusing on a more involved electric air-taxi like Joby Aviation’s S4, they opted to “make flight available to everyone,” as Ternström puts it, via a single-seat craft that would fit into the FAA’s ultralight category.
Regulations for that class of aircraft mandate no flights near airports or crowded areas, but there’s also no need for a pilot’s license.
The team has made every effort to make the air-borne transportation as failsafe and sure-fire as possible, while likewise consisting of a mandatory guideline course in the Jetson One’s $92,000 price.
Only a few minutes of training are required to fly this aircraft.
Flight altitude is expected to be mostly under 20 feet, but max altitude is 1,500 feet.
The 190-pound airplane has an aluminum frame with eight electric motors, which enable it to remain aloft for about 20 minutes with a software-limited top speed of 63 mph.
Pilots, who weigh a max of 210 pounds, manage the craft via joystick and throttle. The flight computer is equipped with Lidar for terrain tracking. The auto-landing system, meanwhile, manages the trickiest part.
Ternström asserts that the Jetson One will fly and land safely even if a motor dies or the throttle is cut. And while the model was planned to spend the majority of its time hovering in between 5 and 20 feet off the ground, it has a ceiling of 1,500 feet– a ballistic parachute comes requirement.
It’s expected to be used primarily recreationally, Patan claims the personal aircraft has minimized his usual (rural) commute time by 90 percent.
Initial demand has actually been strong, with almost 500 systems already presold. In the meantime, the only disappointment might be that it doesn’t fold into a briefcase like George Jetson’s bubble-canopied automobile. At least for now.
