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A Flying Motorcycle Prototype Completes First Flight Test

A model of the Aston Martin Vision Volante Concept aircraft is displayed at the Farnborough Airshow, south west of London, on July 17, 2018. (AFP/Ben Stansall)
A model of the Aston Martin Vision Volante Concept aircraft is displayed at the Farnborough Airshow, south west of London, on July 17, 2018. (AFP/Ben Stansall)
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A Flying Motorcycle Prototype Completes First Flight Test

A model of the Aston Martin Vision Volante Concept aircraft is displayed at the Farnborough Airshow, south west of London, on July 17, 2018. (AFP/Ben Stansall)
A model of the Aston Martin Vision Volante Concept aircraft is displayed at the Farnborough Airshow, south west of London, on July 17, 2018. (AFP/Ben Stansall)

The makers of a luxury vehicle billed as a 'flying motorcycle' that can travel upwards of 300mph have completed flight testing their first prototype and are ready to take preorders, The Daily Mail reported.

Jetpack Aviation envisions its Speeder—a jet-powered, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft—as both a pleasure craft and a mission vehicle well-suited for medical teams and fire and rescue operations. The company's P1 prototype has an aluminum chassis and was tethered during recent flight testing in Southern California, where it hit several benchmarks that 'demonstrated the Speeder's ability to take-off, climb, hover, yaw and perform slow transitions into forward flight,' Aerospace Testing International reported.

The Speeder can reach an altitude of up to 15,000 feet and will ultimately be capable of producing a maximum thrust of 1,200 pounds.

With cargo on board, an automated Speeder could hit speeds of 300 mph, though a manned version would be slower so the pilot could safely see and breathe.

The cost of the Speeder was initially reported at $380,000, but that's likely to increase, according to Jetpack Aviation CEO David Mayman. The Speeder is small enough to be transported in a trailer and doesn't need charging before taking off.

Unlike a jetpack, there's not a lot of prep work needed to launch: 'You'd just hop on and fly,' New Atlas reported. JA is already working on its next iteration, the P1.5, which will use a smaller frame with carbon-fiber body panels.

It will look closer to the final production model and will fly without a tether. The next experimental model, the P2, will have a fully-formed body and small removable wings. While Speeder prototypes use four engines, the final production model will have up to eight.

JetPack Aviation has received backing from venture capitalist Tim Draper, an early investor in Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX, CNBC reported. Right now the Speeder can be powered by jet fuel, diesel or kerosene, but Mayman is committed to adopting zero-net carbon fuel moving forward.

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New Zealanders Save More Than 30 Stranded Whales by Lifting Them on Sheets

Rescuers and volunteers try to save killer whales stranded at the mouth of the Bolshaya Vorovskaya River at the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia October 2, 2024. Head of the Sobolevsky Municipal District of the Kamchatka Region Andrei Vorovskiy via VK/Handout via REUTERS
Rescuers and volunteers try to save killer whales stranded at the mouth of the Bolshaya Vorovskaya River at the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia October 2, 2024. Head of the Sobolevsky Municipal District of the Kamchatka Region Andrei Vorovskiy via VK/Handout via REUTERS
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New Zealanders Save More Than 30 Stranded Whales by Lifting Them on Sheets

Rescuers and volunteers try to save killer whales stranded at the mouth of the Bolshaya Vorovskaya River at the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia October 2, 2024. Head of the Sobolevsky Municipal District of the Kamchatka Region Andrei Vorovskiy via VK/Handout via REUTERS
Rescuers and volunteers try to save killer whales stranded at the mouth of the Bolshaya Vorovskaya River at the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia October 2, 2024. Head of the Sobolevsky Municipal District of the Kamchatka Region Andrei Vorovskiy via VK/Handout via REUTERS

More than 30 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a beach in New Zealand were safely returned to the ocean after conservation workers and residents helped to refloat them by lifting them on sheets. Four of the pilot whales died, New Zealand’s conservation agency said.
New Zealand is a whale stranding hotspot and pilot whales are especially prolific stranders.
A team was monitoring Ruakākā Beach near the city of Whangārei in New Zealand’s north on Monday to ensure there were no signs of the whales saved Sunday stranding again, the Department of Conservation told The Associated Press. The agency praised as “incredible” the efforts made by hundreds of people to help save the foundering pod.
“It’s amazing to witness the genuine care and compassion people have shown toward these magnificent animals,” Joel Lauterbach, a Department of Conservation spokesperson, said in a statement. “This response demonstrates the deep connection we all share with our marine environment.”
A Māori cultural ceremony for the three adult whales and one calf that died in the stranding took place on Monday. New Zealand’s Indigenous people consider whales a taonga — a sacred treasure — of cultural significance.
New Zealand has recorded more than 5,000 whale strandings since 1840. The largest pilot whale stranding was of an estimated 1,000 whales at the Chatham Islands in 1918, according to the Department of Conservation.
It's often not clear why strandings happen but the island nation's geography is believed to be a factor. Both the North and South Islands feature stretches of protruding coastline with shallow, sloping beaches that can confuse species such as pilot whales — which rely on echolocation to navigate.