Video of the AirScooter in flight.

Illustration by Jason Lee AIRSCOOTER: Simplicity is the mantra here. It's built to be cheap, light, reliable, and a cinch to fly.

Piloting the AirScooter is intuitive, thanks to a gimbal-based transmission. The cab hangs from the rotors; to steer, the pilot merely points the handlebars in the direction he wants to go. Water placed in the ballast tank balances the engine's weight. The yaw paddles are fixed, but slant in tandem during a turn to deflect the downdraft. The pontoons provide stability as well as safety.
Illustration by Jason Lee

Our photo team shot video of the AirScooter in flight.


You'll need the QuickTime plug-in to view this video. Download it here for free if you don't already have it installed.





Feature story: The Dream of Personal Flight


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June 2013: American Energy Independence

Five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month's energy-focused issue. Also: how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world's smallest arcade, and much more.


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