After Jetson, Air One enters personal eVTOL vehicle market
In the wake of last week’s unveiling of a Swedish single-seat personal electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle, Israeli company Air One now introduces a two-seat rival to allow individual consumers to fly themselves around.
Flying car startup Air has rolled out its dual-person eVTOL for pre-orders, ahead of expected deliveries in 2024. Now in the demonstration prototype phase, the Air One is described as having a maximum 110-mile range – or one hour aloft – on a single charge, reaching top speeds of 255 mph. Rejuicing a flat battery to full capacity is said to take an hour, with a 20% to 80% jolt requiring 30 minutes.
Though Air has not communicated price for its now on-order aircraft, press reports quote company officials saying they hope to keep it in the same range as high-end cars.
Introduction of Air One comes less than a week after Sweden’s eVTOL vehicle maker Jetson presented its one-seat personal aircraft, not illogically dubbed ONE. That model is billed as reaching top speeds of 63 mph, with most other specs given applying only to dimensions. Like the Air One, the Jetson ONE can be partially broken down to adapt to limited parking or storage spaces.
Thought Jetson’s eVTOL seems a bit farther down the road to manufacturing and delivery, it’s similar to Air One in its trend-bucking target market. Most flying car producers are aiming for somewhat larger and longer-range vehicles for air taxi, delivery, or similar use. Jetson and Air are focusing on individual consumer operation, and are well beyond the proof of concept stage most competitors are still in.
Air continues conducting uncrewed test flights of prototypes, and working toward Federal Aviation Administration certification it hopes to obtain by 2023. Its priority market will be the US, where it expects to sell an average of 15,000 Air eVTOL vehicles per year. Pre-orders are described as being in triple digits.
People concerned at the thought of their neighbors or friends jumping out of seriously dinged-up cars and taking off in a flying machine don’t have to fret, says Air cofounder and CEO Rani Plaut. Air One’s navigation controls and onboard system operates using a “fly by intent” software that translates what pilots have tried to do into the safest actions that should be taken. Think of it as Auto-Tune for the Cher pilots of the world.
That kind of human-helping tech is a given in next-generation air mobility craft, says Plaut. And because it is, he believes anyone insisting that people taking to the skies must be trained, certified pilots are going to have to be educated about what’s actually on the way.
“The future of mobility is in the sky, but to get there we need to build consumer confidence in eVTOLs as a legitimate mode of everyday transport and develop vehicles on a mass-scale to bring that vision to life,” says Plaut. “Air One is our hat in the ring, simultaneously showing consumers the first in a line of diversified, playful models for personal flight and demonstrating cutting-edge technology that will enable high-volume production and scalability.”
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Entertainment
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
Entertainment
Robin Kaye: American Idol TV executive and her husband shot dead inside their Los Angeles home
An American Idol TV executive and her husband have been found dead in their LA home.
Robin Kaye was a music supervisor on the long-running reality TV series.
The bodies of the 70-year-old and her husband Thomas were discovered after officers conducted a welfare check at their home.
Both had died from gunshot wounds.
Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas. Pic: Facebook
Detectives say Raymond Boodarian has been arrested in connection with their deaths.
It is alleged the 22-year-old had burgled their property while they were away on 10 July – killing the couple upon their return.
According to Los Angeles Police, there were “no signs of forced entry or trouble” at the property.
Ms Kaye was an industry veteran – and had previously worked on shows including Lip Sync Battle and The Singing Bee, as well as several Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.
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Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles
In a statement, an American Idol spokesperson said: “Robin has been a cornerstone of the Idol family since 2009 and was truly loved and respected by all who came in contact with her.
“Robin will remain in our hearts forever and we share our deepest sympathy with her family and friends during this difficult time.”
Entertainment
Action taken to stop ticketless Oasis fans from watching this week’s shows in Manchester
Huge steel fences have been erected to prevent ticketless fans from watching the Oasis reunion tour in Manchester.
Liam and Noel Gallagher will resume their sold-out run of shows – their first since 2009 – with a performance at Heaton Park tonight, and two more on Saturday and Sunday.
While tens of thousands bought tickets for Oasis’s first two shows last weekend, crowds gathered to glimpse the large screens above the stage in the distance – in an area dubbed “Gallagher Hill” by some on social media.
People walk past a temporary security fence erected ahead of concerts by Oasis in Heaton Park on 1 July. Reuters file pic
Manchester City Council has now said more steel fences have been erected around parts of the park to prevent ticketless fans from watching the gigs, and to protect nature in the park.
“After taking stock of how the first two nights went, additional measures have now been deemed necessary and will be in place for the next three concerts,” it said.
“The erection of the fencing has a dual purpose – both to protect the environment from further damage and to dissuade people from gathering there.
“The necessary measure means the concert will no longer be visible from this area.”
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Friday: Excited fans at Oasis homecoming gig
The fences will cover a large area of the hill within the park’s cattle field, which is being developed as a new woodland area with around 300 young trees planted.
The council added that there would be no facilities for people without a ticket, and said the event area is “double-walled with solid high security fencing all the way round”.
More than 2,000 event security staff and police officers will also be on duty around the site “to ensure both the safety and wellbeing of ticket-holders and that only those who have tickets access the concert”, it said.
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John Hacking, the council’s executive member for employment, skills and leisure, also said in a statement that “unfortunately our hand has been forced in having to put these additional measures in place”.
He added: “Our advice to music fans who don’t have tickets for the concerts is to head into the city centre instead.
“The whole city is going all out to celebrate and help everyone have a good time.
“We’ve got some fantastic things going on with a real party atmosphere for everyone to enjoy, whether they’ve got tickets for the Oasis gigs or not.”
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