I am quite sure that the gunships from the Final Fantasy franchise certainly captured the imagination of quite a number of us when we saw it for the very first time, as it has since expanded to include a slew of different variations from other franchises – movies, games, the works. Hence, the Joby S2 VTOL (vertical take off and landing) is certainly out of this world – but commuting in it might be the future, thanks to improvements in battery technology.
Joby Aviation has managed to come up with this two-seater plane concept which relies on a dozen tilting electric propellers so that it can deliver multirotor-style balanced VTOL capabilities. The moment it hits cruising speeds, these rotors will fold away, forming aerodynamic bullet shapes, allowing the aircraft to achieve speeds of up to 200 mph (322 km/h) – not to mention a range of up to 200 miles, thanks to a quartet of cruise-optimized props that are on the backs of the wings and tail fins.
This is certainly a far cry from what we have been treated to in the past and we expect the S2 to hit a 200 mph (322 km/h) top speed when it finally enters production. Pretty much a cool way to commute to and from work, eh?
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