jet engines power multi-mission, micro-VTOL ‘speeder’ instead of engines or batteries

From Jetpack Aviation

After David Mayman founded his company Jetpack Aviation in 2016, he garnered a team of aeronautical, mechanical, flight systems, certification specialists, and designers that had years of experience working with micro-turbojet engines. Today, the company designs multi-mission Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) Air Utility Vehicles (AUV) to toy with the use of air mobility. First, they designed and built the FAA-approved JetPack, which Mayman personally flew around the Statue of Liberty in 2015. Most recently, the team completed the first full-scale prototype of the drone-like Speeder Air Utility Vehicle, an ‘ultra-high-speed, compact, and heavy-lifting VTOL’ that has multiple configurations, changes depending on the needs of a situation, can be piloted optionally, and is powered by jet engines rather than by electric engines, fuel, or batteries.

images by Jetpack Aviation

Faster than a helicopter

The Speeder Air Utility Vehicle has a small landing footprint, a speed that is two to three times faster than a helicopter, and has a low life-cycle cost and no weather or visibility limitations. Based on the company’s prototype releases, three variations will be made available: the Briefcase, Motorcycle, and Automobile size. Time-critical cargo becomes the focus of the vehicle which can go to and from highly confined areas to deliver medical supplies, tank fuel, shoulder ammunition, and carry electric batteries. For missions, it solves firefighting worries as it can be deployed in an instant, can be swarmed, and has no risk to the flight crew. Be it autonomous, remotely controlled, or manned, the vehicle can move injured or sick people rapidly and safely in and out of confined areas.

jet engines power multi-mission, micro-VTOL ‘speeder’ instead of engines or batteries

New aircraft in aviation

‘We are building a new class of aircraft and disrupting aviation forever,’ the company writes. ‘The Speeder is the fastest, smallest, and most powerful micro-VTOL, multi-mission air utility vehicle, engineered from the ground up.’ Before reaching the stage the company is in today, it underwent a series of tests and prototyping in the previous years. In 2019, the company designed the model of the vehicle along with testing its physics elements. The design, construction, and flight testing of the first full-scale prototype followed the year after, and the successful flight testing of P1.5 full-scale prototype happened in 2021. This year, the company aims to start the flight tests of P2.0 with the intended production version commencing mid-2022. The team also hopes that in 2023, the third phase of the test program will be completed, making everything ready for the certification program.

base of the micro-VTOL