Jetson One Vs SkyDrive : Can we Increase Flight Times ?

[@pulentoman2083]

It feels like we are in the "New Kitty Hawk" era, just starting with fly machines and where flytime is measured in minutes. A new beginning once again :-)

[@rangerfontana591]

They couldn't put pedals on this. Too many people are out of shape these days.

[@shannonstewart4792]

@@rangerfontana591 lmaooo. Ice way of saying they FAT AS HELL LOL.

[@michaelpal7641]

Jetson is the one I like-But-"New Kitty Hawk"? For 15 minutes? $90,000 Dollars? Well, ok-but at the rate of these so called "personal VTOL" aircraft pop up on my radar? Complete with slick CGI videos and "grand announcements" for "commuting" -They always end up moving around at a bare hover, only to skim some field miles away from any urban setting. Battery Life dependent on heat and as usual, technology. Still would want one-but the very design gives birth to ideas of what this type of aircraft can do, should be doing. Yet the technology (as well as the decibels) make these aircraft "prohibitive" to operate anywhere but in CGI or a deserted field! We need to be thinking of Frequency, Oscillations, Electro-Magnetic pulses etc. The air around us is already charged-we just haven't figured out the frequency needed to develop thrust, lift and forward movement from what is already given to us by nature! All these companies should come together under one single entity with one design and one goal-To make a personal commuter aircraft that could be spun off into Agriculture, Law Enforcement, Search/Rescue, Air Freight and, the occasional jaunt out to the countryside. Until that happens-all these craft will be relegated to Aviation oddities -crafts that are no more than a flying weed wackers, barely moving out of hover.

[@rangerfontana591]

@@shannonstewart4792 😂

[@badboaz7290]

Yes but we’re like....20-30 years behind schedule 😄 They need to hurry up I’m getting older lol

[@jamesdeath3477]

Seems a similar problem to the rocket equation, regarding fuel v weight. Another fascinating video. Thanks!

[@ElectricAviation]

Thanks again!

[@ianmangham4570]

Delta V

[@Tron-Jockey]

1). Shroud the propellers. Properly designed Ducted Fans will outperform a similar sized free propeller. It has been amply demonstrated, both theoretically and empirically, that a ducted fan system, properly designed for a specific operating condition, will always outperform (propulsively) a free propeller of the same diameter (that is, it will produce more thrust for the same power input) at that operating condition. While this fact is always true (at least at subsonic speeds), it does neglect the drag of the duct itself, which at high speeds can easily overcome propulsive benefits. However, this vehicle is not a high speed application so any drag associated with the duct itself should be negligible. The shrouds should be made of carbon fiber to keep from adding an appreciable amount of weight. 2). Use ethanol in a Direct Alcohol Fuel Cell (DAFC). Should allow for a much smaller lighter battery pack (essentially acting as a buffer). DAFCs possess a wide spectrum of advantages as compared with proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) that use hydrogen as the fuel. The theoretical energy conversion efficiency of all DAFCs exceeds 90%, which is higher than that of PEMFCs (83%). More importantly liquid alcohols have a much higher volumetric energy density than does gas hydrogen. For this reason DAFCs require much smaller fuel cartridges and they are thus much more compact systems. In addition, alcohol fuels are easily handled, transported, and stored. Unlike hydrogen-feed PEMFCs, liquid fuel-feed DAFCs do not need humidification and separate thermal management ancillary systems. All these features make DAFCs particularly suitable for portable and mobile applications. energiforskmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/18529/direct-ethanol-fuel-cells-ethanol-for-our-future-fuel-cells-energiforskrapport-2015-137.pdf

[@sasquatch2753]

Agreed, ... put 600cc motorcycle engine in and problem solved. No heavy metals or rare materials that are very hard on environment to dig up, and far less c02 of production and recycling when the time comes. These personal vehjcles are cool but they are simply enlarged drones that I can buy at best buys. What is the maintenance on these things? How much will your power bill go up ? And how much more coal will many cities have to dig blm And burn to meet the electricity demands ? Besides, i dont want millions of morons flying above me, when they can barely drive their cars presently. Just imagine the havoc... Yeah, They are cool but just a very very expensive toy.

[@neutrino78x]

@@sasquatch2753 "put 600cc motorcycle engine in and problem solved. " 600cc motorcycle engine is zero emission? News to me. Citation needed. If it's not then no, problem not solved. "What is the maintenance on these things? " Damn near zero. Only moving part is for each propeller so like four moving parts. "How much will your power bill go up ? " Negligible. Remember a fossil fuel engine is a heat engine so it is limited by the Carnot limit...so it can't be more than 50% efficient or so. Whereas an electric motor is 90% efficient. Also even if the power plant is coal powered, it burns far less fuel to generate enough power for an electric vehicle than a fossil fuel engine burns to do the same thing. "And how much more coal will many cities have to dig blm And burn to meet the electricity demands ?" Part of going green is eliminating fossil fuel as a source of power. Not for power, not for propulsion. Source of plastic only (and even that will go away when plant based plastic becomes more prevalent). So nuclear and renewables. Some time in the next 20 years, the last fossil fuel plant in the western world will be built, replaced by nuclear and renewables.

[@stomptheelites]

Jetson is the best for me in many ways, the greatest being a sence of 'Spirit' and homegrown passion.🍀

[@2002RM]

Very good , concisely made video. It puts into perspective very clearly what is needed to further develop these into viable options. Higher density batteries, improved power to weight and possibly an augmented lift option (fixed wing) or larger blades. I'm sure if we take a peak 10yrs into the future, the biggest change will be battery density.

[@rangerfontana591]

Increased rotors is the fix... for now.

[@gehtdichnixan4704]

Would buy a Jetson if I had enough spare change. Sounds so much fun!

[@mikemccall1126]

Love this! These machine's are straight out of a James Bond film.☺️☺️☺️

[@thierrysf]

Excellent analysis as always. You are answering the exact questions I asked myself after watching a promotion video for the Jetson.

[@ElectricAviation]

Great to hear!

[@FredPauling]

35 minutes flight time would be amazing! Keen to know how well it recovers from a motor failure.

[@DivergentDroid]

I do believe by law it must have a parachute.

[@bennospijker9737]

Parachute is onboard alreddy

[@zasanafesenov8119]

Jetson is the way to go, but, I think i will wait for the Jetson 2!

[@1loanofficer]

It seems like adding some lift surfaces (ie) wings and a V tail might increase the flight time. BUT then the weight increaes and I believe you would legally need a Sports Pilot license which is what they were trying to avoid.

[@metrowireless3381]

This young engineer is a genius. I love the Orb. Cheers

[@Jb-Raja]

Realistically speaking it's 10 years too early for these "gadgets". I wouldn't even consider these things other than just toys and execution machines at this point.

[@mencobagear5874]

1. increase aerodynamic efficiency, add clear very thin plexiglass windshield on the jetson 2. add fabric wing, or make the underside of the jetson a lifting body design using fabric material 3. add 1 large pusher prop 4. use hybrid gas engine.

[@WorivpuqloDMogh]

Having a gas engine with an alternatot to charge rhe battery will greatly improve its range

[@stellieford6183]

I like what you're thinking. I'm sure somewhere someone is crunching the numbers on that

[@paulgroth3345]

They're just not ready yet. I need to go 35 miles across water to get to the nearest grocery store what you have won't work. I look forward to further updates thank you

[@ElectricAviation]

Pipistrel Velis Electro would do the task. It needs a landing strip though

[@ozzylogano6732]

Jetson one goes 63mph

[@richardjenkins4182]

Adding wings would quadruple the flight time. Powered lift is great for TOL, and a bit of loitering. But it's very inefficient compared to the aerodynamic lift of fixed wings.

[@CrossWindsPat]

Agreed. There is a reason airplanes dominate aerial travel. The first company to make a 2hr+30 min reserve plane thats "affordable" will sell like hotcakes.

[@ElectricAviation]

Bye Aerospace's EFlyer 2 is the one that has 2hr + 30 min reserves. I dont think its a budget aircraft though. It is a good option for a trainer

[@gpaull2]

Plus wings don’t just fall out of the sky when the fuel runs out.

[@daszieher]

@@gpaull2 Depending on rotor size (disk loading) autorotation is possible. Helicopters also don't just fall when the engine quits

[@daszieher]

Indeed. Jetson is aware of this, but deliberately chose this configuration to go forward. It does not mean, that future variants might not also have wings for forward flight.

[@NeedsContent]

Very informative and concise video, thank you!

[@ElectricAviation]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@badboymowersofnorman6011]

Some forget that flight at low levels increases drag. There is not enough updraft to effectively counteract the drag from the same forces. The propellers are actually forcing air downward, cutting though levels of air propelling it upward. Not forcing against the ground to create lift. Otherwise flight would be limited to a few feet, or yards above the surface. It is not like taking off from a aircraft carrier in a jet engine, with the engine placed against a wall for thrust. Vertical props work by pushing air, not pushing against the ground.

[@kingdavidthedogo6639]

I swapped mine with a good ol' fashion Briggs & Stratton 5hp. Works fantastic!

[@joegolfer9372]

I'm really looking forward to getting seated immediately in my favorite restaurants.

[@brandonfranklin4533]

I really like the idea of the Jetson One, but $92k is way too much for 5 min of flight time. Personally, I think if we are going to get good use out of these kinds of airframes we need a lightweight hybrid gas/electric power system. A sort of auxiliary power unit to help keep batteries up while flying. Larger installations could use a turbo shaft generator while smaller ones could use two or four stroke engines for their APU. Just my 2¢, especially for the ultralight crowd.

[@Metrofarquhar]

Then again, auxiliary power from a hybrid system would add considerably to the weight AND cost, especially if a turbine engine were to be employed with respect to cost. Added to that, the Jetson seems to be particularly sensitive to any additions in weight.

[@stardustblue3625]

the jetson has a 20 min air time

[@arthurgimba1310]

I wonder if an alternator system would aid in battery life and flight time... Simply recharging the battery as the rotors spin and flight continues and maybe compromise a little bit of the altitude for the Jetson

[@stelinium572]

What would increase flight time by adding just some minimum weight is if a small removable air foil wing design that could snap on, or slide and lock on the bottom of the aircraft that would increase flight time by removing the weight constraints on the motors when in forward flight and if the motors could then tilt forward would even then increase the speed of the aircraft of that of the many small fixed wing aircraft. Forward control still could then be accomplished by slowing down the right, or left motors to then turn left, or right and to descend while in forward motions would then still be in just decreasing all of the motors at the same time some, or by the tilting of all of the motors at the same time vertically. Adding the design to tilt the motors horizontally will add a bit more weight that would be imposed on the wings more while flying horizontally and only on the motors while just in vertical flight mode.

[@xaverpan6131]

Easy solution for longer flight times: Kerosine - with 50 times higher energy density than Li-Batteries. This could be combined with a generator and buffer battery if one wants to keep the electric motors by all means.

[@rasheedwint7096]

I will love to buy one but waiting untill they're in better development...I need more flight time...but they both are awesome...

[@sunnyhawkadventures864]

I think the video speaks for it self on who is ahead.

[@hansvantonder3369]

I think that Jetson 1 is heading in the right direction, unfortunate about flight time and weight restriction, room for improvement, as I am sure will happen in the near future. Jetson 1 out Performs any rival complications, they are surely in a field of their own.

[@okannuryuz1484]

if jetson one wil decrase price to 60.000$ probably can dominate whole ultralight market

[@charlesroberson3761]

jetson should add those larger props and possibly small lift surfaces and a forward prop. They have the weight disposition to do it .

[@tyapka]

Jetson 1 is obviously much more superior to that other one. I am wondering if it is possible to combine this layout with some kind of lift generating surfaces when there is forward motion (wings, but does not have to be wings).

[@benwilms3942]

Profile the front motor blades like a helicopters, and tilt them slightly back, and you can gyrocopter the whole front end for free at forward speed.

[@readhistory2023]

@@benwilms3942 They could build the airframe out of carbon fiber which would help increase the range, not so much the price.

[@ev-ezaye3580]

@@readhistory2023 Maybe, maybe not... Any time carbon fibre pops up, it's money grab I hear afterwards!!

[@KevinATJumpWorks]

Yes, then you basically get the Blackfly. Anything else requires tilting surfaces.

[@LosZonga]

@@KevinATJumpWorks Blackfly is one of the best designs currently at that category. The only things I would add to it is a second seat, better visibility cockpit and a top fixed elaron wing for in flight stability.

[@nikotttin]

The question is: can it powerloop? 😇 Now on a more serious level, would adding small wings close to the fuselage increase the gliding and thus the flight time?

[@MpeshaBrosMD]

Exactly, the entire shape should be designed to increase lift.

[@rangerfontana591]

@@MpeshaBrosMD That's what the rotors are for. Anything else ADDS WEIGHT.

[@droolguy]

Short answer is yes, quite simply. The people designing these things are laser focused on "no lifting surfaces" brute force flight. If one was simply looking for the maximum flight time regardless of package dimensions you could add full size glider wings and 90 degree rotating engines to transition from VTOL to forward flight. Flight time would go from minutes to hours.

[@01foote01]

Would adding wings reclassify it? Would a pilot's license then be required?

[@droolguy]

@@01foote01 Probably, as wings would add weight. The type of lift isn't a factor in whether or not powered aircraft require a license, it is based on weight, amount of fuel carried, and top speed.

[@jimj2683]

I would love to hover above my city in a jetson one while eating lunch and enjoying the view!

[@kaox44]

We aren't even close to these being mainstream. We need 300 miles of range or at least 2 to 3hrs of flight.

[@ElectricAviation]

The Jetson one is not meant for long distance commuting. Its just like a Dodgem car or a Go kart, that you will be able to fly in certain areas

[@kaox44]

@@ElectricAviation ...that's disappointing at $100K. My dream of personal free flight will have to wait....

[@myuncle2]

Solution is a 4 winged "plane", acting like a flying wind turbine, to recharge the batteries during flight. An electric aircraft could use roll maneuvers, so the plane wings can spin on the opposite direction, with full 360° revolutions on its longitudinal axis. First pair of wings spin on one side, second pair of wings spin faster on the opposite side, this way the pilot or passengers will never be upside-down.

[@powerofdreamx]

Thank you

[@ElectricAviation]

You're welcome

[@headcrab4090]

Reduce the drag of the design. But that would add weight and cost. This is a dead end without a new powersource that not yet exists. I believe you are right that bigger rotors could benefit.

[@RichardIresonMusician]

Very well explained. Thank you.

[@johnarnold893]

these are both playthings of the mega rich. It would be chaos if everybody had one.

[@fineshooter50]

I love this whole concept! Definitely the way of the future.

[@tibora13]

I still want to see a video from Jetson 1 with their vehicle during harsh weather, i.e Thunderstorms, drought, winter, etc. Once i see that then im buying.

[@ElectricAviation]

Jetson 1 is meant for recreational flying in private grounds

[@tressalis74]

What I learned from this video is that I'll never own one, not with a $92,000 price tag.

[@patrickmulvany6479]

So two strategies are suggested: 1) Get some uber light weight lifting wings on the Jetson. Once installed, and the thrust required to maintain lift is satisfied, 2) Takeoff with a long extension cord, say 150 meters, to get the machine to wingborne speed, then reduce throttle. Bet you'd add 5-10 minutes of flight time with these two strategies alone. Then, higher power density batteries, and pretty soon, you're talking an hour of flight time....maybe. Obviously, weight is everything.

[@blackwater7183]

We just need to wait for better battery technology. Just waiting for that solid state battery with graphine. I also don't understand why they can't make a hybrid for now, gas and electric.

[@fabreezo]

I love the innovation of these and the idea of flying finally. But, only thing that scares me is air traffic control and safety. This could be difficult considering people will have the ability to go just about anywhere in any direction they desire versus when in a land vehicle your somewhat limited because of landscape so it was a little easier to traffic control people. It would be pretty scary just witnessing someone fall out of the sky randomly and land on your sidewalk table at a restaurant because they clipped a rotor or crashed into someone else, not to mention more chance of death cause you didn’t just crash you also now have to plummet to the earth. At least in a car you have a chance to survive after impact if you crash. I’m sure this is one of the many reasons its taken us so long to adopt flying as an option in our everyday travel even though we’ve had the technology to do so

[@RobertWilke]

If anything in metro areas these vehicles would be tied into an automated flight system. Where there would be strict zoning as to where to fly. There would be flight corridors as to not interfere with buildings and people. Let's say there was a medical emergency and the pilot jerked the the craft to the right. It might respond to that input but at a certain point the system would meet the boundary and stop going in that direction no matter how hard the stick is being forced.

[@jaguillermol]

Cars had exactly the same problem in the beginning. It worked out well.

[@fabreezo]

@@jaguillermol yeah but that was different cause cars can’t go everywhere. When your in the sky there’s literally no limits or terrain to stop you. How do you control that?

[@jaguillermol]

@@fabreezo They could before. There were no asfalt roads then. Their wheels were very big

[@fabreezo]

@@jaguillermol you can’t drive a car over a canyon or a cliff or through the Amazon rainforest or through the ocean and rivers but a flying vehicle? Yes. No limits. Not the same situation

[@charlfloms3189]

Inventing unlimited energy technology is closer to reality than antigravity , combined that with propellers that don't have fans, and create little noise to none at the same time would be awesome and safer

[@MonsiorTortoise]

Ellon Musks design had a central motor and propellor, this allows him to charge his vehicles while descending altitude! There are a ton of ideas incorporating small solar panels. If the motors can tilt slightly for forward travel, set up a charge circuit for each of the motors and program rear propellors to tilt the same way. Funnel some air creating scoops along the sides front and rear of the craft. Create some contoured vents to direct air to the central fan to allow new controls to blow air down constantly during flight. The motor will provide constant charge during flight. Once you program it properly.

[@ediposantos6574]

Considering the octaquad X8 frame, the most viable solution with current technology is an hybrid gas/electric.

[@richarddavenport9708]

Good information. When the flight time is extended so will the interest.

[@ElectricAviation]

Yes it will

[@leonardcontarino7940]

very real possibility for future travel

[@D00kerT]

I don't see why you couldn't develop ultralight gas-powered combustion engines to generate power for the batteries and thus the rotors. Yeah, I know this is "Electric Aviation" but it would significantly increase the flight time.

[@jonny555ive]

Great upload buddy. YOU sir, have a new subscriber 👍

[@rangerfontana591]

Skydrive stays in it's cage for the whole demo... LOL! While the Jetson1 is zipping around everywhere. Has anyone been foolish to even buy a Skydrive?

[@joseph2707]

Excellent presentation. Make more videos!

[@ElectricAviation]

Thank you, I will

[@cdn_badger]

Lotto win Bucket List for sure!

[@fortify1123]

We've got to come up with some type of hover conversion device. Kinda like what they have in the matrix movies.

[@jonny555ive]

That Jetson look so awesome, if they could put a hydrogen engine in it and still keep the weight down it would be a GAME CHANGER 👍👍 I see huge things coming to this company in the future.

[@haroldarmstrong6288]

I think they're awesome I wonder about the pancake shape they used on an old Antiquated WWII plane built for short takeoffs and Landings

[@joeracerable]

I would love to buy if they had a 2 hr flight time or more. A person could get a birds eye view of a persons surrounding area. I would have lots of fun flying around in the first one

[@Mark-sy2bx]

Forget flying cars, these make more sense.

[@dzikieswinie]

Howcome is SkyDrive so shaky esp. if backed by a huge car company and a tiny startup Jetson flies so well? Are SkyDrive designers so bad?

[@scotbotvideos]

Great video, but it's the BlackFly for me. With its black-and-white wings, Opener's craft would help me pretend I was flying a De Haviland Mosquito from WW2. (I can dream, can't I?)

[@thomascorbett2936]

I love that Jetson , it's so cool .

[@wooblebloc]

Think I’ll wait 20 years when they can add a few more seconds to the flight and come down in price

[@phinomenon8692]

The ulitmate would be a small biodiesel turbine powering an in-line Aura Systems generator that charges a hybrid battery/capacitor bank + 5 gallons biodiesel @ 40 lbs. Much like the hybrid trucks built by Writespeed.

[@rangerfontana591]

Too much weight for rotors of that size to life. You built what you're suggesting... looking forward to it.

[@GuyIncognito764]

I suspect we're at that awkward point in the design of these things where it's just approaching feasibility... Hence the 5 minute flight times! Things like solid state batteries will have significant impacts on practicality. I figure these companies are about 10 years early here.

[@benwilms3942]

I think biofuel and a constant rev IC engine driving a gen would get them to feasibility real quick, then disrupt the power train with an all electric down the line.

[@Tron-Jockey]

1). Shroud the propellers. Properly designed Ducted Fans will outperform a similar sized free propeller. It has been amply demonstrated, both theoretically and empirically, that a ducted fan system, properly designed for a specific operating condition, will always outperform (propulsively) a free propeller of the same diameter (that is, it will produce more thrust for the same power input) at that operating condition. While this fact is always true (at least at subsonic speeds), it does neglect the drag of the duct itself, which at high speeds can easily overcome propulsive benefits. However, this vehicle is not a high speed application so any drag associated with the duct itself should be negligible. The shrouds should be made of carbon fiber to keep from adding an appreciable amount of weight. 2). Use ethanol in a Direct Alcohol Fuel Cell (DAFC). Should allow for a much smaller lighter battery pack (essentially acting as a buffer). DAFCs possess a wide spectrum of advantages as compared with proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) that use hydrogen as the fuel. The theoretical energy conversion efficiency of all DAFCs exceeds 90%, which is higher than that of PEMFCs (83%). More importantly liquid alcohols have a much higher volumetric energy density than does gas hydrogen. For this reason DAFCs require much smaller fuel cartridges and they are thus much more compact systems. In addition, alcohol fuels are easily handled, transported, and stored. Unlike hydrogen-feed PEMFCs, liquid fuel-feed DAFCs do not need humidification and separate thermal management ancillary systems. All these features make DAFCs particularly suitable for portable and mobile applications. energiforskmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/18529/direct-ethanol-fuel-cells-ethanol-for-our-future-fuel-cells-energiforskrapport-2015-137.pdf

[@rangerfontana591]

Yeah, solid state batteries was already covered. #awesome

[@andreschapero3615]

A Rogallo nanocraft or an Electric Parapente nano trike both can fly one hour today in a much safer and efficient manner . Both carrying an obese pilot and a fat passenger.... These are the flying minimal aircfraft I care about improving these days. All these other wonderful designs might be prettier and easier to fly but the battery technology is just not up to the task and I do not see any impressive advances down the pipe at all. Fantastic channel !!!!!!!

[@guytelfer1353]

What you should do is tow the weight supported by a tow cable, you don't have to fly so high keep it close to ground

[@northspack]

We are evolving!!

[@william1863]

It is my dream since I was a little boy 55 years ago to fly this kind of craft believe it or not. Thanks 👍 Next year I will only have 100,000 to play with though and with inflation I don't think it's going to be enough. 😒

[@spocksvulcanbrain]

It seems that the SD03 could shed a lot of excess weight by removing all that cowling. Strip it down to just the cockpit, frame, battery compartment, and rotors. Wonder how much weight that would save and how much flight time would improve?

[@marcostirling9768]

Adding size to the rotors will also drain the batteries because of the extra power needed to move them. The only effective solutions are to increase the energy density of the batteries and use some kind of wing that could save power when planning.

[@badboymowersofnorman6011]

The batteries are wrong. They should be in-cased in what would resemble a radiator made of aluminum. The rotors would cool the batteries extending the life of the battery, and this would decrease the over all weight. Also, the rotor blade size doesn't need to be increased to gain max output of motor efficiency. But, only the pitch of the blades, or the number of blades per rotor. (Lift is lift) most importantly, the driver seating is also wrong for stable flight. They should be setting on something more like a performance motorcycle seat or, almost laid down facing forward. This would effectively increase monuverability, and keep the driver more stable. Because of g forces the body with the current seating could be flung about. This waists energy in correcting unstable weight distribution. For instance ride a cruser motorcycle at high speeds. Then do the same speeds on a high proformance motorcycle. (Rice rocket) the difference is clear in stability and maneuverability. Thanks

[@antv311]

Hydrogen would increase energy density without increasing weight actually weight would decrease as the flight goes on. Also there are lighter materials that could be used like graphene and carbon fiber. Since its not going that fast or high it would be fine . It would also dignify the price tag. Hell since they could even use densified wood since they are only making what looks like a couple thousand of them. I agree with the fountain lift version they would have to move the propellers closer to the center but it would also make more sense . If we're doing that though then we should use turbines not propellers .

[@jasonpatterson2143]

Hydrogen is a lost cause. Read Honda's report. The spent decades trying to make it work, in the end they said it's just not feasible for any form of transportation.

[@z_actual]

Looking at case 2 first, not knowing where they are going for part 'b', What Toyota are doing here is selling you structure, which in this case is ostensibly useless. So how do we make Jetson go further longer, we know there are 2 answers, the better battery we dont have, or add wings to reduce thrust and prolong battery life. So my wing plan is 2 delta wings, the canard is a reverse delta, the mainplane is conventional and sits above the canard as in a tandem wing. The mainplane is a transparent triangle above the pilot and forward of to aid visibility, and a seat tub in the top of the canard for the pilot. The props are situated at the outside apex of each delta, with the inboard 1.47 ft rotating with the motors to facilitate vertical thrust. This keeps the machine to the important 8ft width for transport, although it is arguably longer by 0.9m or 3ft All of the thrust would also be required to maintain the correct attitude of the machine to keep it in effective balance. The sum of both wings is 75 sq ft which when calculated to a Cl max of 1.3 makes a stall speed of 28mph keeping us within the UL specification. What I didnt figure out was the weight of the wing, which cancels some battery power, and the drag, and therefore thrust required to maintain 63mph, and as a consequence the endurance and therefore range. On this case as it was with Blackfly, it seems apparent that a tandem configuration is indeed a useful attribute.

[@z_actual]

not sure I went the right way here, what I attempted to do was use pressure shift to automatically adjust the attitude of the machine., and the intention was to limit speed to 62mph. oh well, ...

[@presise1620]

How about giving it attachable wings? That will allow it to coast in the air saving battery life.

[@TrainingMacro]

"The most obvious solution is to add more batteries" Incorrect, the most obvious solution is to tilt the rotors forward so you lose less energy to keeping the flyer afloat.

[@PankajDoharey]

or as mentioned in the video larger rotor.

[@gpaull2]

Without aerodynamic lift (wings) the props will always need to be supplying 100% of the lift.

[@maligalig4090]

I am not a pilot or aircraft engineer. However, I guess the solution to address the problem in battery power/mile range is just to add wings. A conventional ultralight aircraft can be fitted with 4 rotors with just the 2 front rotors with tilting capability. Once airborne, the 2 front rotors can be tilted forward and the 2 rear rotors are turned off and the aircraft is flying. No backward and sideways motion while hovering which depletes the battery.

[@ElectricAviation]

Problem with adding wings is that it add a whole new set of aerodynamics and controls. Yes the range will be extended but it wont be as manuverable as it currently is.

[@maligalig4090]

@@ElectricAviation Well, I guess the answer to the ever pressing problem in evtol which is still insufficient battery power lies in the research and development of battery technology. A battery which can last up to at least 500 mile range is better.

[@RedcoatsReturn]

I guess at the moment these are niche “rich kid“ play products with such short flight times, well under 1 hour and requiring a lean pilot weight. Fuel cells perhaps with much higher stored energy to weight ratio or solid state. Still, only 30 minutes is way too little to become a popular global market product.

[@daszieher]

Solid state won't cut it. Only fuel cells with liquid fuels (oxidant from the atmosphere) will be light enough.

[@sub08Angstrom]

@@daszieher or lightweight gas engines running on 130 octane avgas.

[@daszieher]

@@sub08Angstrom 130 octane is not necessary.

[@rangerfontana591]

Thx. for telling us everything the video already did. #awesome

[@cruduskellies]

I would love to own a Jetson One.

[@ComeAlongKay]

Drone racing I thought of a while ago and was like yes, like in ninja turtles. Where people fly the drones on obstacle courses over like miles, add like cool fireworks and various things in. Have small drones following to film it. And have the announcers on like a giant platform, or an airship with a platform above or below. Or maybe the announcers above and seating below so you can watch from the air if you have a premium ticket.

[@rhiantaylor3446]

I feel the body of the jetson should be enclosed with fabric as used in Hawker Hurricane and most prior planes and shaped to give a little lift as a "flying body". Objective is to reduce load on batteries once at height and moving at speed.

[@daszieher]

Lifting body and stub wings instead of the unprofiled motor pylons

[@rangerfontana591]

@@daszieher Wings = weight = less time in the air. Well done. You're wrong again.

[@daszieher]

@@rangerfontana591 you seem incapable of understanding what you read, so let me spell it out for you. Yes, wings=weight and complexity, which is precisely why Jetson chose to go without wings in the model presented here. That is also the same reason why I suggested a lifting body profile of the cabin and profiled motor pylons as stub wings. The only added complexity would involve swiveling the motors.

[@rangerfontana591]

@@jwalker7650 Sounds like you need a hug or need to be heard. There's no limit to injecting (other than your mother) on posts. Of course they'd be 'light-weight' wings Mr. Gump. Good think you clarify the obvious. 🤣

[@rangerfontana591]

@@jwalker7650 blah-blah-blah-blah... is all I heard. Thx. for playing. 😂🤣😂🤣

[@leapman3000]

Love it. Thanks for the info.

[@ElectricAviation]

Our pleasure!

[@realvanman1]

The longest possible flight time would be where the greatest possible fraction of mass is made up of battery. A battery with rotors attached and nothing else would be about the best possible scenario.

[@2012listo]

I suggest a small glider platform.

[@offdaheez]

Dank yew fer dour review

[@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent]

It seems at most. Both are capable aircraft except for power supply. The issue with power is more to do with the power efficiency of the batteries. Given some more development the batteries could effectively increase flight time significantly.

[@boblazarrss]

Charge it while flying... Maybe ionization of the air to get some induction going

[@matthewnorman2951]

It has a collapsible structure for reducing impact during a crash. It better be able to handle at least 9.8...you get the point.

[@DirkLarien]

I would imagine most use cases would keep at low altitudes. Although as popular saying goes - speed = life and altitude = life insurance. It wont me the case here. I really doubt these small rotors could in case of failure auto rotate in any meaningful way due to their tiny mass to keep spinning any useful length of time. Nor will it glide. In my meaningless opinion for these designs to be useful for transporting people, really going to have to adopt tilting mechanism and some small wings for bit of ground effect. Otherwise it seems like a dead end technology.

[@gpaull2]

They all have fixed pitch props from what I’ve seen. A variable pitch prop that can go into negative pitch is required to autorotate…but like you mentioned these rotors probably don’t even have enough mass to do anything beneficial.

[@daszieher]

A feasible safety strategy would be to add wings and fly above best glide speed so that you can still convert speed to altitude and deploy an emergency parachute.

[@noalear]

I believe these come with parachutes.

[@daszieher]

@@noalear as I said. A ballistic emergency parachute system only works, if the vehicle is within deployment parameters. Under a certain speed and altitude, the entire parachute system is just dead weight (just adding energy to dissipate in the crash 😃). So, if the vehicle will regularly NOT be flying in conditions where a ballistic parachute system can actually be of help, it will be more honest to skip it entirely and save weight and complexity.

[@ОлегСташков-ы8ц]

Maybe they need to use "Saw" vertical trajectory :moving forward aerovehicle fly up, then fly down with recuperation of energy

[@oxiforcendave3035]

It would be nice if the Jetson or sky drive could support people that weigh over 210 pounds

[@carstenmoebius5243]

Well, people with lots of money are flying into space, who would have thought it only 10 years ago? Sooner or later these inventions will become more affordable for everyone, give it time. I just hope that I have enough time to try of these copters ☺️

[@CDWCAULDRON]

to Increase the Runtime Of Jetson One Vs SkyDrive and Other flying systems Like them, you Need a Hybrid system , Propane generator that can Run the systems and charge the Battery at the same time. Like a Samll Generator for example the Jackery Portable Power Station Explorer 240, 240Wh Backup Lithium Battery, 110V/200W Pure Sine Wave AC Outlet this Is Just a thought : after all you don.t Need a Big Tank for Propane.

[@robradcliff6415]

Why not use a separate power source to assist? For example, the rotary engine is very power efficient when compared to size and weight. With this in mind, \hy not add a small rotary engine that would power on periodically that would run a generator that would in turn charge the batteries in flight. The engine would only power on from time to time as the batteries were depleted to a given level, the engine/generator system would fire, charge the batteries to a given level then shut down.

[@uddinislah3042]

Wonderful amazing👌🏼👍🏼

[@FLYBOY123456789]

if the jetson one has been around for 2+ years, how come there are NO videos from owners/pilots regarding their unboxing, flying, pros/cons, etc?

[@DrJohnnyJ]

pure helicopters like these remain impractical. Volocopter has a jet thruster. Others have wings. The heavyside vtol looks pretty practical but awkward for takeoff. The Volocopter has the best software including GPS guidance system.

[@jaguillermol]

They should be made in the shape of the soviet flying car that got lift power only from it's shape. That would save lot's of energy

[@get-out-there2]

Both need perpendicular propeller which uses pedal assist tech for forward momentum and need aerofoils to reduce battery needs. 25-35 miles range, top speed about 20-30mph, charge time 4 hours. That's it, essentially a flying bike. Price needs to be below $2k. Good luck

[@ElectricAviation]

$2k is a bit low dont you think?

[@get-out-there2]

@@ElectricAviation yea, goals are not always met and higher price is ok but it has to be as cheap as possible and as a electric pedal assist you can get more power from the human to reduce price and weight. Could even use existing ebikes, $700 sold separately and you just sell the conversion kit.

[@ElectricAviation]

​ @jacob spair You can get at most 500 W of constant pedalling power from humans. Jetson 1 needs more than 50 kW of power to remain airborne. So pedalling will only provide about 1% energy.

[@get-out-there2]

@@ElectricAviation great analyses, however that much power is only needed for vtol whereas when the craft can use a small 350w pedal assist motor for forward momentum and the craft needs to be seated on aerofoils so the energy needed reduces. Does that make sense? Quadcopter for vtol and stabilization and pedal assist power for forward momentum and aerofoil flight, range needed is only 25 miles to compare with a basic ebike.

[@MonsiorTortoise]

I can lower the weight of any aircraft, I can improve on flight safety, Maneuverability and increase the overall speed. I can see several improvements that could be engineered. Starting with Hamster ball inspired Cockpit for the Pilot) This allows for another self charging option, as well as negating some of the G forces on the pilots.

[@lenbroude2925]

I'm thinking solar power built on top could slow it down a little but more time and distance we would gain

[@GUYFROM2047]

They should make circle blade guards

[@quantumfx2677]

How about finish the wall and turn on the Tesla Towers in Milford Texas to be used aboveground this will put an end to short flight times and change everything.