Flying 'Motorcycle' Has A Maximum Speed Of 150 MPH

JetPack Aviation is taking pre-orders for its Recreational Speeder personal VTOL air vehicle. The company bills the vehicle as "The World's First Flying Motorcycle".

According to information posted to the JetPack Aviation website, the Recreational Speeder is fully VTOL (vertical take off and landing) capable and can effectively take off from anywhere the size of a small car space. Originally intended only for military, government and commercial clients JPA is also designing a version of the Speeder for the recreational market. They say it will be lighter than most 125cc motorcycles, fully stabilized and simple to fly.

JPA claims flying the Recreational Speeder will be just light riding a motorcycle but in the sky. Being fully stabilized means that minimal pilot training will be required. It will take off from practically anywhere and will fly at over 150 mph at altitudes of up to 15,000 feet.

The company plans to build two versions of the Recreational Speeder: The Ultralight Version and the Experimental Category Version.

The Ultralight Version (UVS) will not require a pilot’s license to operate – all training will be provided by JPA or the company's  authorized training centers. The Ultralight version will be limited to carrying 5 gallons of fuel and a top speed of 60 mph.

The Experimental Version (EVS) will require a private pilot’s licence to fly and will have no fuel or speed restrictions. As the owner/pilot of the EVS, buyers will be hosted at JPA's manufacturing facility and will be part of the aircraft completion process. Full training will be provided at the JPA training facility in California, where JPA remains the only FAA authorized jet-VTOL instructors in world.

New Atlas reports that the company has been in contact with the FAA to have the Experimental aircraft designation amended to something that will allow the Recreational Speeder to be flown by someone with a recreational or light sport pilot certificate, but does not say whether there has been any progress in those discussions.

And buying one will significantly lighten your wallet. The base list price on the website is $380,000. The price to reserve one of the 20 planned for the initial production run is $10,000.

(Sources: JetPack Aviation and as cited. Image courtesy JetPack Aviation)

FMI: Source report, jetpackaviation.com