Falcon Ultralight Personal Aircraft – entry level individual flight

The FUPA is Kickstarting funds to build and deliver personal hovercrafts by 2016.

Jason Cluxton wants to bring the world an entry level, no license required individual flight experience. He’s currently running a Kickstarter campaign for the Falcon Ultralight Personal Aircraft, or FUPA.

FUPA should weigh around 240 pounds and exist as an ultralight aircraft that will not require a pilot’s license. Running on five gallons of fuel it’s expected that the hoversystem will fly for about thirty minutes between refueling.


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1149022742/falcon-ultralight-personal-aircraft-fupa

Safety of the user is the team’s first priority, and the phrase used in the campaign page is “started with a parachute, attached it to a seat, and then built the aircraft.” FUPA can fly up to forty five miles per hour depending on the fuel level and pilot weight. Maximum altitude will be 4,000 feet in perfect condition.

Two rotors on each of the four pods rotate against each other to create stability and thrust. Internal sensor adjustments keep the center of gravity constant based on inputs from pilot weight, fuel and wind conditions.

Several information and comfort features are built into the Falcon. Users can connect their ipads to a navigational app. The cockpit panel shows an altimeter, auto hover switch, fuel and power levels, navigation lights, landing lights, AUX inputs and USB charging ports.

The Falcon is ambitious. Cluxton plans on building prototype molds in mid2015, assembly and testing in Fall 2015, and selling FUPAs by the middle of 2016. There are many details that are not included on the Kickstarter page that I’m hoping are already calculated and being held for proprietary reasons.

FUPA is another in a long line of personal aircrafts trying to gain Kickstarter funding. This campaign video isn’t as polished as most but shows an incredible eye for detail in 3d design, simulation and computer animation. Hopefully this intricate design ability means that the craft will assemble and test easily to meet the aggressive timing goals.


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1149022742/falcon-ultralight-personal-aircraft-fupa