Lift off! This personal VTOL vehicle is the future now

It's easy to see why electric drones are becoming so popular. Not only are these amazing devices super maneuverable and relatively easy to control, they are becoming more and more affordable, too.

People can use them to shoot cool videos like you're filming from a helicopter or just have them scoot around the sky like aerial race cars! (Just as long as you follow the rules in your city about where and how high you can fly them, of course.)

But whether you own one yourself or wish you did (just saying, we'd love to have one!), it's safe to say that many of us have looked at a drone and thought, "Wow. I wish there was one of those that I could fly in!"

And now there is. And while the Jetson ONE is neither common nor affordable, there's no harm in taking a look at this cutting edge tech and seeing what it can do!

Taking flight

The body of the Jetson ONE is made of lightweight but strong carbon fibre and 3D-printed materials. (Jetson)

Made by a Swedish startup company called Jetson, the Jetson ONE is a zero-emissions personal VTOL vehicle. VTOL stands for 'vertical takeoff and landing'. Though these types of vehicles have existed for decades—hello, helicopters—they have really become more and more known thanks to drones. Most personal drones use the four rotor system—four horizontal spinning propellors create lift (upward motion through air) and thrust (forward motion) to send the drone flying up and away!

The Jetson ONE is set up similarly—four sets of double rotors—except on a scale large enough to support a full-grown human. The vehicle can carry a single passenger who is up to 95 kg (210 lbs) for 20 minutes on a full charge of its lithium-ion battery. Its top speed is 102 km/h (63 mph), but this is only because internal software limits the speed for safety.

Speaking of safety, the vehicle can still fly even if one rotor breaks (good to know!) and the passenger is protected by a race car-style rollbar cage. Though we're certain it would still be a really good idea to wear a helmet!

Maybe not for everyone ... yet

So, who is ready to grab their own personal VTOL? Though this is actually commercially available, the days of everyone zipping around in their own Jetson ONE are a long ways away.

For one, their entire 2022 production line will have only 12 vehicles and they're already sold out. Same with the 2023 line. And then there's the fact that one of these costs about $115,000 CAD ($92,000 USD). And did we mention that personal VTOL vehicles are currently illegal in cities? Yeah, maybe the dream will have to wait for now.

But all that said, it's not hard to look at this vehicle and see a future just around the corner where we fly to a friend's house instead of walking, biking, or driving. Who knows? We're pretty sure that's what the folks at Jetson had in mind—after all, they share their name with a 1960s cartoon (The Jetsons) about a futuristic family that flew everywhere!

Have a look at the Jetson ONE in action in the video below. Hold tight!