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Imagine getting in your car, driving 20 minutes, climbing into a very small airplane with 5 or 7 other people, and flying across the country, as fast as you can in today’s jet airplanes, for $150.

As the NY Times recently reported (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/01/business/01flight.html):

In its annual forecast, the FAA projected sharply higher levels of flights because of a new class of small planes, called very light jets, or microjets, with only 6 to 8 seats. The planes can fly about two-thirds as fast as an airliner, and at higher altitudes, but land easily on short runways found at small airports that have no scheduled airline service. The F.A.A. expects about 100 or so of the jets to begin flying this year. Proponents of the microjets, which have a range of 1,000 miles or more, said they would spawn a new generation of air taxis and charters that would carry travelers to small airports, usually within 20 minutes of their homes or destinations, at coach fare prices.

For years I’ve been following the progress of one of the microjet making companies, Eclipse Aviation.  The innovation that makes a microjet a possibility, rather than a fantasy, is advanced, miniaturized jet engines based upon cruise missile jet engines.  Eclipse boasts an engine that is light enough for a strong man to lift, but capable of creating thousands of pounds of force.  Such jets might be manufactured on much larger scale then the large jets we are accustomed to today, and therefore be able to take advantages of manufacturing efficiencies, much like the mass produced car.

The end result could be an amazing new form of air travel.  People say the Internet has heralded the death of distance, but perhaps we haven’t seen anything yet.

This entry has been filed under tech.