As commuters in the UK struggle to get to work today, one company owner has took a different approach to get to the office.
Tomasz Patan, co-founder of Swedish firm Jetson, completed the ‘first ever’ commute in his £68k space-age flying car.
Patan piloted the Jetson ONE vehicle from his Italian home to a company building in nearby Tuscany.
The firm said the airborne journey reduced travel time by 88%.
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Jetson said the trip is a ‘momentous occasion for the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) sector.’
The trip actually took place last month, on May 21. But we’re only learning about it now, ironically as thousands of UK workers struggling against three days of rail strikes.
The aircraft is powered by eight electric motors, has a flight time of 20 minutes, and can reach a top speed of 102kph (63mph).
It’s constructed of a race car inspired lightweight aluminium space frame and Carbon-Kevlar composite body.
Running on a high discharge lithium-ion battery, the vehicle can carry a single pilot with a weight of 210 pounds (100kg).
San Sunner, Jetson Head of Communications, said: ‘On 21 May, after months of rigorous testing, the Jetson team completed the first-ever eVTOL commute.
‘The team waited in anticipation for the Jetson ONE arrival at the Santa Maria a Monte facility in Tuscany.’
Patan added: ‘Our long-term goal is to democratise flight. We firmly believe the ‘eVTOL’ is the future for mass transportation. We are committed to making this a reality.’
Peter Ternstrom, co-founder and president of the company added: ‘The Jetson is built like a formula one car for the sky and incredibly fun to fly.
‘Most importantly, the Flight Stabilisation System we developed makes flight super easy. We can make anyone a pilot in less than five minutes.’
Jetson say their prototype ‘proof of concept’ was finished in the spring of 2018, and the company has since been working on a ‘consumer-friendly’ version.
In case you were thinking of putting your name down and ripping up your season ticket for good, you’ll unfortuantely have to wait until next year.
The company states: ‘The entire 2022 production is sold out, but we are accepting orders for 2023 delivery.’
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