20 December 2024
Air racing sounds great fun but it costs millions of pounds/ dollars/ euro/ crypto* to take part right? Not any more. The weird little single-seat aerial go-kart known as the Jetson One could be the start of a whole new lower cost air race series.
For a start, the Jetson One costs $128,000, not exactly cheap but a lot less than, say, a Red Bull Air Race winning Zivko Edge 540, or a highly modified Reno racer such as the Rare Bear Bearcat.
*Choose your preferred currency
Founder of the Italian company, Tomasz Patan, recently demonstrated the Jetson One racing ability by navigating the first of our new 8-meter (26ft) tall pylons. Here’s the video of that test:
According to Jetson, demand for the Jetson One has been phenomenal, supporting the company’s dream to ‘make everyone a pilot’. The company has already sold over 471 units priced at $128,000, with a down payment of $8,000 to reserve a serial number.
The Jetson is constructed of a race car inspired lightweight aluminum space frame and carbon kevlar composite body. It has intuitive joystick controls and a flight computer which keeps it stable in the air. The company says “everyone can learn how to fly it in just a matter of minutes”.
It is powered by eight powerful electric motors, has a flight time of up to 20 minutes, reaching a top speed of 63mph. It runs on high discharge lithium-ion batteries and can carry a pilot’s weight of 95kg.
