Jetson One - Marketing

dans2992

dans2992

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Dans2992
So, the Jetson One has a ballistic parachute. This demo flight on their website appears to be the most unsafe bit of flying I've seen in a while. I cringed the whole time.

I mean for god's sake, get some damn altitude! It should not be flown like this. Yeah, I'm sure its more fun this way, but massively less safe than at least getting to a couple hundred AGL...

Am I just getting to be an old man?

www.jetsonaero.com

The World's First EVTOL Commute to Work | Jetson - Personal Electric Aerial Vehicle

We are incredibly proud to share that after months of rigorous trial and testing we completed the World’s first EVTOL commute.
www.jetsonaero.com www.jetsonaero.com
 
I mean... at some points he's actually flying _under_ wires. Really? Is that necessary for your "commute to work"!?
 
Then again...I used to like these types of "commutes" ...
 
Oh, I understand the appeal! I really do..... but seeing as how a vulnerable startup like this would get absolutely hammered if there were a lot of accidents... doesn't seem to be the right way to market to "non-pilots" who don't know any better....

Now..... get off my lawn! ;)
 
...Because every commuter wants to dodge trees and avoid wires on the way to work...
 
With only a 20 minute battery, do you really want to waste that much energy climbing or descending?
The craft can fly with the loss of one engine, or one of the two battery packs, plus it as a zero/zero chute. (At this point, this is all PR to me, I have seen nothing which backs up the claims).
With a service ceiling of 1,500 AGL. It avoids the FAA (I think).

Looks kinda cool, like an expensive motorcycle.

Tim
 
I didn't have much problem with the flying overall, but it's only a matter of time before you startle some birds flying that close to the tree tops and send them right through the propellers. Going to be lots of prop shrapnel as well as bird guts. Hope the recovery software can react to the loss of those propellers within 2 seconds or you're going to be tumbling into Terra firma.
 
It might not be showing off. He might feel safer flying lower because there's less wind, and as long as he doesn't clip a tree or wire he might be right. Before RC helis and quad-copters had decent gyros, many I saw stayed low to avoid being rolled around in the wind, especially breaking from below trees to above. The "shear" for lack of a better way to put it, when they went up above the tree line could flip them. Guessing about this, I don't know if the physics scales up.

If it loses gyro stabilization, I think it's game over. Or maybe the parachute has a way to launch even if it's spinning? Finally, the 1500' ceiling doesn't make any sense.

It looks like a lot of fun, but I wouldn't do it.
 
Looks great to me. If I can pull that thing out of my garage and fly to my hangar, it will save me time and traffic hassle. I can also drive it around in a trailer (where it's charging), then go explore the local areas.
 
dans2992 said:
doesn't seem to be the right way to market to "non-pilots" who don't know any better
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Well considering their main market is "non-pilots" sure seems to be working for them especially since there are quite a few more "non-pilots" flying things around now than "real pilots." Think about it...why fly your drone from the ground when you can ride in it!!
Albany Tom said:
Finally, the 1500' ceiling doesn't make any sense.
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Last I read it was listed as "above 1500"?
 
MountainDude said:
Looks great to me. If I can pull that thing out of my garage and fly to my hangar, it will save me time and traffic hassle. I can also drive it around in a trailer (where it's charging), then go explore the local areas.
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There is a local pilot who owns one similar to this. He flies it across the lake from his home to his hangar, saving a drive around the lake.
 
Bell206 said:
Well considering their main market is "non-pilots" sure seems to be working for them especially since there are quite a few more "non-pilots" flying things around now than "real pilots." Think about it...why fly your drone from the ground when you can ride in it!!

Last I read it was listed as "above 1500"?
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Yep, I read it wrong. I saw the 1500, and couldn't figure out what could possibly make it that low...didn't see the "above" part.
 
Looks like how we used to fly our paramotors... but we had an already inflated parachute...

I'm sure the people in the houses he passed just loved the propeller noise which was conveniently muted in the video and covered by annoying music.
 
Dana said:
Looks like how we used to fly our paramotors... but we had an already inflated parachute...

I'm sure the people in the houses he passed just loved the propeller noise which was conveniently muted in the video and covered by annoying music.
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Most propeller noise from what I have read is related to the tip speed approach the speed of sound. Most of the multi-copter solutions with so many small props actually are much quieter since the tip speeds are much lower.

Note: this is what I have read, and seen in a few multi-copters I have seen in person.

Tim
 
Nevermind. Just saw this thing is Part 103.
 
tspear said:
Most propeller noise from what I have read is related to the tip speed approach the speed of sound. Most of the multi-copter solutions with so many small props actually are much quieter since the tip speeds are much lower.

Tim
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Small props are less efficient and must turn at a higher RPM to develop sufficient thrust which drives the tip speed up again. I haven't found any information on the RPMs they use for typical cruise flight yet.
 
Spinka said:
I haven't found any information on the RPMs they use for typical cruise flight yet.
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The RPMs I've seen for eVTOLs are in the 2000-5000 RPM range. However, there are many variables like ducted vs open props, fixed pitch vs variable pitch props, flight control system and design, etc.
 
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His left hand seems to have an extra firm grip throughout the video.

Following power line cut outs probably seems safer than above the trees, and is certainly lower. Maybe they are thinking from a car drivers’ perspective, with the ability to take short cuts here and there.

The video is kind of strange from a straight sales standpoint; I need to go to a place with a mini helipad? No towns? Cities? Etc. Is this for Joe rich guy going to his buddies house and that’s it? Or maybe he’s going home? Do they only show rural area because it’s illegal to fly so low where I work?

Maybe they want a thousand questions but it seems inefficient.

Anyway, sales will go up once the ozempic craze gets hundreds of thousands of rich people below 200lbs
 
I struggle with the “you don’t have to have a pilot certificate!” marketing blurb we see so often on things like this.

I mean, if you’re not taking it seriously enough to WANT to get trained as well as possible…. Is it really a good idea? You can kill yourself just as easily in the smallest ultralight as you can in a jet.
 
dans2992 said:
I struggle with the “you don’t have to have a pilot certificate!” marketing blurb we see so often on things like this.

I mean, if you’re not taking it seriously enough to WANT to get trained as well as possible…. Is it really a good idea? You can kill yourself just as easily in the smallest ultralight as you can in a jet.
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Training and certification are not the same thing. What FAA pilot certificate would you get if you were going to fly this thing?
 
Lindberg said:
Training and certification are not the same thing. What FAA pilot certificate would you get if you were going to fly this thing?
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I think a general sanity test might suffice.
 
Perhaps a study of the damage to the human body caused by falls from ever-increasing heights starting at 10'?
 
dans2992 said:
I struggle with the “you don’t have to have a pilot certificate!” marketing blurb we see so often on things like this.
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I think thats the main marketing point of any ultralight over other aircraft? While most ultralight OEMs offer training as a part of purchase, why would a person who goes all out to obtain a PPC limit themselves to the restrictions of an ultralight?
 
I suppose the manufacturers of powered-parachutes and other similar makes could make the same claim that "everyone is a pilot". No need for FAA certification, but it's probably advisable.
 
flyingron said:
To go over them means getting the thing out of ground effect :)
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I get that this is a joke, but it got me thinking.

Anybody with any helicopter training has learned about ETL, Effective Translational Lift, which is the speed above which the rotor is now in "clean" air and is therefore more effective. Kind of like ground effect, but only above a certain speed (15-ish knots if I remember off the top of my head).

I assume the same concept of ETL would apply for a drone/quadcopter/whatever they're calling things like the Jetson. But how is this affected by the dual rotors on each pylon? Counter-rotating I assume, which I again assume means the bottom one is always acting in "dirty" air and that probably affects the top one too. Anybody seen this addressed anywhere?
 
RussR said:
But how is this affected by the dual rotors on each pylon?
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As I understand it is a different dynamic with RPM controlled vehicles like the Jetson. The lift has to be there to do anything especially since ground effect is very limited at maybe 1-3 feet. For helicopters ground effect is generally measured at about one rotor disk diameter above the ground depending on who you ask. Ground effect also loses its effect over rough terrain vs hard smooth terrain. You might see some "transitional lift" with larger winged eVTOLs but most of those usually fall under "transitional flight" due to articulating props like the V22.
 
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