If you’ve been waiting, hopelessly, for The X-Files to come back for good—this year’s six-episode reboot wasn’t enough—then you might just have the chance to relive your childhood again through the eyes of conceptual engineer and designer Charles Bombardier. He’s just dropped a personal flying saucer aircraft concept that makes exhilarating air travel anything but alien.
Calling his vehicle the Jetson—a tip of the cap to the popular ’60s cartoon—Bombardier’s creation is aptly jet-powered, and he imagines, could be used for both recreational purposes (i.e. to scare the pants off your neighbor at 3 a.m.) or to commute to work (hopefully, you can find you a parking space). The chrysalis of the idea came from seeing his own creation, the Flyboard Air prototype, reach dizzying speeds and soar into the record books.
So how does it work? It’s basically the size of a small car and seats one (i.e. you). Below its fuselage, it would include five jet thrusters, with two fuel tanks on either side and a pair of storage compartments. Although you’d need proper flying lessons to be able to pilot the Jetson, there would be an onboard system capable of picking up some of the slack. To land on that parking space behind the office, the vehicle would deploy for landing legs. And if you stayed late at the office, it would be equipped with landing lights, so that your significant other would know when to heat up your dinner.
The jets are currently pretty loud, so it might be difficult to get authorization to fly in a populated area like a city center or down main street. But Bombardier does note that they have a potential second life on the airshow circuit or in extreme racing events, so if the Jetson doesn’t make it into your garage immediately, you could be seeing it elsewhere.
For more on Charles Bombardier, his company Imaginactive, and the Jetson, click here. For a few more views of the concept, scroll below. At the bottom, hear from Bombardier himself about what goes into creating vehicles like this one.
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