Jetoptera - A new form of propulsion
Or a wolf in turbine's clothing?
Another one from my backlog that made news in early 2023. Nice simple (dare I say traditional?) flying car design, and a very very interesting propulsion method. Jetoptera (say that word 3 times fast) is flying to new heights with their sad face shaped thrusters.
‘Jetoptera’s innovations are foundational and applicable in a wide variety of domains. The Fluidic Propulsive System is scalable and can be used to power a range of aircraft for both VTOL and STOL applications. Jetoptera licenses and sells its patented propulsion system. In conjunction with partners, Jetoptera is building unmanned and, eventually, manned aircraft.’
This one, no doubt in my mind - will get scooped up by the military if it’s working as well as they say it does.
Unmanned is a very hot topic now especially with the military, and drones becoming weaponized in untold ways, daily. Be that as it may - much of the civilian aspect of this vehicle may get pushed aside for the time being.
At one point in my life, I probably could understand how this unit actually works, but for now, I’m just going to say that it looks good to me, and if it is quiet, efficient, and performant; let’s go with it. From first glance it looks like they are pushing the burning hot air through a Dyson fan instead of a traditional turbine exhaust nozzle.
Could this be converted into an electric format? I bet so - but maybe the efficiency isn’t as high.
More info here, but unfortunately not seen many updates since February: