Posted on 01/26/2026 4:42:06 AM PST by DFG
A “Jetsons”-style “air taxi” may be transporting New Yorkers before the end of the decade, its manufacturer says.
The UK-based tech company Vertical Aerospace touted its futuristic Valo aircraft, a four-seat electric vehicle designed to fly up to 100 miles at 150 mph, at an industry preview in Manhattan last week — calling the contraption a first because of its zero-emissions power source.
“If you think of mass transport … the infrastructure just doesn’t work anymore,” company CEO Stuart Simpson told The Post in unveiling the craft, which has a pilot and is roughly the same size as a chopper and as fast.
He said his firm — which dubbed the vehicle an “air taxi” akin to something out of the 1960s cartoon “The Jetsons” — is aiming for the e-aircraft to be certified to fly short trips such as from JFK Airport to downtown Manhattan by the Federal Aviation Administration and UK regulators by 2028.
“This low-altitude economy frees up billions of hours for people where you can be with your friends and family, rather than sat in a car, squashed up on a train trying to get home,” Simpson said.
The air taxi’s back-and-forth destinations — routes to be devised by tourism companies and other businesses purchasing the aircraft — are set to use green energy to cut multi-hour journeys to airports, stadiums and weekend-travel destinations to minutes, Simpson said.
For example, the hourlong train ride from JFK to downtown Manhattan is expected to be cut down to just 7 minutes while being emissions-free.
A “hybrid” version of the flying e-vehicle can sit up to six passengers and jet across up to 1,000 miles.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Just about anywhere.
Mega wealthy people pay the hired help to grocery shop and prepare meals, clothing designers come to their homes for fittings, and the chauffeur drives the munchkins to private schools.
Rall right reorge
If you have money to be cruising around in one of these, you have people for that!
Yeah, you’re not wrong.
Probably a large part of the reason there are so many in Tokyo, compared to NYC? I dunno numbers, but I imagine that to be the case. The Japanese don’t let lawyers run amok as we do.

Review post #18 for reminder how the Jetson concept was presented in the 1960’s.
As a commuter vehicle, it does not land to discharge passengers but rather ejects them in pod seat contraptions. This will be worked out later and experts assures anyone interested purchasing the vehicle, that it should be safe since the concept is sixty years old.
The idea that this aircraft could be commercially viable any time soon is ridiculous. It would have to abide by FAA helicopter flight rules and has crap for range before needing a recharge...
It can’t be Jetsons style if it has rotor blades, dumbass writer has obviously never seen the cartoon. It is a helicopter style multi rotor vehicle and trying to create ‘excitement’ by comparing it something the people likely to ever use, have no knowledge of is stupid.
“If a single motor fails, you’re......”
Initiate engine out procedure and procede to landing.
“Not much space for your luggage”
Your built-in bias prevented you from being the luggage compartment.
“If a private plane is sold new, the cost is tripled to cover the potential liability that the builder might suffer. “
Source?
Chinook helicopter had 2 counter rotating rotors instead of a main and vertical tail rotor. why having 4 is better is a little confusing
Not at all. You need to do your homework.
“The idea that this aircraft could be commercially viable any time soon is ridiculous. It would have to abide by FAA helicopter flight rules and has crap for range before needing a recharge...”
To be certified as a commercial passenger plane.
Negatory
You can control lift, yaw, pitch and roll just by controlling motor speeds on a quad copter without needing a collective and cyclic to pitch the individual blades. If you look at how those work you'll just walk from Midtown to JFK instead of taking a regular helicopter.
“Negatory”
Negative on doing your homework leaves you uneducated.
No
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