Flying bikes have been tipped to be the next biggest thing in the world of motorcycles. While there have been many daring attempts and hyped prototypes, we are yet to have a flying motorcycle that would enjoy widespread acceptance while navigating the legal issues surrounding the development of flying machines. Jetpack Aviation hopes to change this narrative with The Speeder. According to the company, ‘Flying the Speeder will be just like riding a motorcycle, but in the sky!’
Design and Features
The Recreational Speeder is designed to be the first turbine-powered vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft ever manufactured. The fully stabilized nature of The Speeder ensures that owners can fly the aircraft with little to no pilot training. The aircraft does not need a runway for takeoff. It can take off and land on any flat surface and it can attain a flying speed of 150 mph.
The aircraft is designed to fly at altitudes up to 15,000 feet above sea level although none of the target customers is expected to fly that high.
The versions of Speeder
Jetpack Aviation announced that two main versions of the Recreational Speeder would be built: the Ultralight Version (UVS) and the Experimental Category Version (EVS). There is also a military version that is designed for application in war and emergency situations.
The Ultralight version: This version is the one that would be made available to the general populace. It would not require a pilot’s license to operate and all training would be provided by the manufacturing company or any of their licensed training centers. The UVS would have a maximum flying speed of 60 mph and would only be able to carry 5 gallons of fuel.
The Experimental Version: Only pilots with a private license would be authorized to fly the EVS and there would be no fuel or speed restrictions. According to JPA, individuals that preorder the EVS would be hosted in the company’s manufacturing facility and would have the opportunity of following the completion process. This move will be in accordance with the FAA rules surrounding experimental aircraft production.
The Military/Commercial speeder
This version is an upgrade on the recreational Speeder as it boasts autonomous piloting features. It is designed to be fast, compact and powerful, making it applicable in high-stakes environments such as military expeditions and medical emergencies. The autonomous flying feature implies that it can be remotely controlled. According to the manufacturers, the use cases of the Military Speeder include:
- Getting a paramedic to the patient faster or transporting a patient to a hospital
- Fast and cost-effective underway resupply between ships
- Evacuation of wounded soldiers from battlefields
Pricing info
The Speeder is available for preorder on the Jetpack Aviation official website. The Recreational Speeder is currently valued at $380,000. The company plans to build only 20 units of the Recreational Speeder and you will need to make a deposit of $10,000 to confirm your order.
Startup
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend to become registered, startups refer to new businesses that intend to grow large beyond the solo founder. At the beginning, startups face high uncertainty and have high rates of failure, but a minority of them do go on to be successful and influential. Some startups become unicorns; that is privately held startup companies valued at over US$1 billion.
Actions
Startups typically begin by a founder (solo-founder) or co-founders who have a way to solve a problem. The founder of a startup will begin market validation by problem interview, solution interview, and building a minimum viable product (MVP), i.e. a prototype, to develop and validate their business models. The startup process can take a long period of time (by some estimates, three years or longer), and hence sustaining effort is required. Over the long term, sustaining effort is especially challenging because of the high failure rates and uncertain outcomes. Having a business plan in place outlines what to do and how to plan and achieve an idea in the future. Typically, these plans outline the first 3 to 5 years of your business strategy.
Design principles
Models behind startups presenting as ventures are usually associated with design science. Design science uses design principles considered to be a coherent set of normative ideas and propositions to design and construct the company's backbone. For example, one of the initial design principles is "affordable loss".
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