Your daydreams of soaring over Metro Manila traffic on a flying motorcycle might be closer to reality than you think. What was previously a conceptual sci-fi vehicle is now being brought into the real world by Jetpack Aviation (JPA)—the same company that made functional jetpacks (as per the brand’s name) a reality.
Dubbed ‘The Speeder,’ it utilizes a series of thrusters and custom-written flight control software to take off and land vertically, stabilize itself mid-air, and even fly autonomously with a pre-programmed flight plan.
Two versions of the vehicle will be available to consumers. First is an ultralight model with a limited top speed of 96.5kph and a 15-minute flight time. It doesn’t require a pilot’s license, but it comes with training courtesy of JPA or one of its accredited training centers.
Those with a private pilot’s license can acquire an experimental version with a top speed of somewhere upwards of 400kph and can stay in the air for up to 35 minutes at a time. Due to the experimental aircraft classification, owners/pilots will be hosted and trained at JPA’s manufacturing facility, where they will be part of the aircraft completion process.
The Speeder’s design is going through several revisions as it completes the development process, so the images here are not indicative of the final product. So far, JPA has decided on an eight-turbine setup over the previous iteration’s four turbines for safety and redundancy. These turbines also allow for impressive performance. The 104.8kg ‘bike’ (if you could call it that) can generate up to 320kg of thrust.
Hand controls allow the pilot to steer the Speeder. A 12-inch screen provides navigation and info, and a radio system takes care of communication and in-flight entertainment, if riding a flying bike wasn’t entertaining enough.
JPA is now accepting pre-orders on its website with a starting price of $380,000 (P19,223,000). If you have that much money burning a hole in your pocket, you better act quick, as JPA will only make 20 recreational versions of the Speeder; future production will be dedicated to military/government applications.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopBikes.ph. Minor edits have been made.
