Inventor of the Jetson ONE Personal eVTOL Takes it Out for a Test Flight Along the California Coast

Tomasz Patan took off from his own driveway in a Jetson ONE eVTOL, heading straight out to sea. Soon, he was flying low over the cliffs of Pismo Beach, following the coastline and headed directly over the pier, and the view most certainly stole his breath away as he made his way down the shoreline, passing a beach restaurant he’d flown over many times before.

Surfers were in the sea below, and the entire coastline was laid out in all its grandeur before him. Patan later described the view as one he would never forget, as the marathon brought him from Pismo Beach to Grover Beach, where hundreds had gathered to watch him pass by. Local groups had secured for all of the essential permissions from a variety of different organizations, which required some effort but ultimately paid off.

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Without a runway or airport to worry about, he could plot the most direct route possible and just go. The flight itself was straightforward, a short hop from his house to a familiar stretch of coastline where the Pacific was doing its usual thing, waves rolling in against the rocks and sand with the hills and houses of the shoreline sitting quietly in the background. The Jetson ONE just did its thing without a hitch, unbothered by the wind or weather throughout.

The Jetson ONE runs on eight electric motors driving eight individual blades, all wrapped in an aluminum and carbon fiber frame that keeps the total weight down to around 254 pounds with the batteries fitted. The open cockpit can accommodate a pilot of up to 209 pounds, and from there you get roughly 20 minutes of flight time before needing to touch down again. Top speed is around 63 mph, though most flights never push anywhere near that. Control comes down to a single four axis joystick, which keeps things refreshingly simple, and the high discharge lithium ion batteries deliver plenty of power throughout. Recharging from a standard wall socket takes just a few hours, and when you’re done the whole thing folds down neatly for storage.

Patan began working on the Jetson ONE in 2017, and now oversees production from a separate factory. So far, they’ve received more than 650 orders totaling nearly $100 million. They are planning their first 100 deliveries for next year and are already accepting bookings for 2028. A full airframe parachute system is included as standard, which is a true lifesaver in the event of an emergency, and it also complies with all ultralight vehicle regulations, which is a good thing.