9 September 2025
+VIDEO The first customer delivery of the slightly bonkers but hugely appealing single-seat Jetson One electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft has happened.
Californian tech entrepreneur Palmer Luckey is the designer of Oculus Rift, a virtual reality head-mounted display that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality industry.
Palmer had less than 50 minutes of familiarisation of the Jetson One before his first take-off and flight. Afterwards he said, “I was expecting it, this shit is kinda cake!”
With the help of ChatGPT, we’ve translated this as, “I say chaps, absolutely wizard!”
The Jetson One is classed as an ultralight aircraft in the US, needing no pilot licence. It has a lightweight aluminium space frame paired with a Kevlar shell and is powered by eight brushless electric motors, each with its own propeller.
The onboard flight control system is fly-by-wire with multiple sensors and a flight computer to aid intuitive handling. Pilots manage altitude and direction with a simple 4-axis joystick interface, meaning that learning to fly is straightforward.
The aircraft is said to have a flight time of up to 20 minutes, a software-limited top speed of around 102 km/h (63 mph), and can climb quickly – up to 2,000 feet per minute.
