In this video demonstration first reported by New Atlas, hovercraft and jetpack pioneers, Jetpack Aviation, show off a flight test for its latest two-person VTOL called the Speeder. The results look pretty promising.
The Speeder test is exciting for a couple of reasons outside of the sheer novelty of watching a “flying motorcycle” do its thing. For instance, Jetpack Aviation was required to develop whole new control software capable of automatically stabilizing the craft, allowing for easier and more stable flying.
While it’s fun to envision a future in which we can all hop on our own flying motorcycles and soar above rush-hour traffic, it looks like one of the most immediate applications will (unsurprisingly) be military in nature. There’s a recreational version too, however, but it’s slightly cost-prohibitive.