*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - August 17, 2009: A British pilot killed in a fiery crash in Malaysia was an aviation entrepreneur conducting a test flight of his Jetpod "flying taxi", reports said Monday. 
The Jetpod is a unique, lightweight, Very Quiet Short Take-Off and Landing (VQSTOL), 6-seat, twin-jet powered aircraft. The Jetpod also comes in two Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) variants based on the same design.
The Jetpod cruises at 300 knots (350 mph) and only requires an incredible 125 metres (410 feet) to take-off or land. This is achieved through a combination of horizontal and vertical thrust management as developed by Avcen. The Jetpod does not require a runway and can operate from grass and roughly prepared dirt strips. The Jetpod has been designed to withstand multiple daily low-level flight sectors using a rugged undercarriage. The Jetpod has a wide-bodied, high ceiling appeal, with an easy to enter set of rear-clamshell passenger doors and walk-in foot-ramp. Avcen has developed its own noise attenuation technologies, enabling its noise output to be lower than the latest and quietest jet engines by an additional -17 to -20 decibels. The Jetpod, with its twin-engined safety, will sell for under one million US Dollars.
Michael Robert Dacre, 53, died Sunday when the prototype aircraft crashed and burst into flames shortly after take-off from a landing strip in the northern town of Taiping, Malaysian police said.
The Star daily said Dacre was an inventor and the managing director of British-based Avcen Ltd. which planned to have the "Jetpod" eight-seater flying taxi in production by 2010.
It quoted witnesses as saying that the aircraft attempted to take off several times before soaring into the sky and then abruptly veering to the left and crashing to the ground.
The Jetpod was designed to have a cruising speed of 350 miles (550 kilometres) per hour, be quieter and quicker than a helicopter, and require just 125 meters to take off and 300 meters to land.
In interviews when plans for the dual jet engine aircraft were unveiled, Dacre had said he hoped the Jetpod would transform inner-city transport.
The Jetpod is a unique, lightweight, Very Quiet Short Take-Off and Landing (VQSTOL), 6-seat, twin-jet powered aircraft. The Jetpod also comes in two Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) variants based on the same design.
The Jetpod cruises at 300 knots (350 mph) and only requires an incredible 125 metres (410 feet) to take-off or land. This is achieved through a combination of horizontal and vertical thrust management as developed by Avcen. The Jetpod does not require a runway and can operate from grass and roughly prepared dirt strips. The Jetpod has been designed to withstand multiple daily low-level flight sectors using a rugged undercarriage. The Jetpod has a wide-bodied, high ceiling appeal, with an easy to enter set of rear-clamshell passenger doors and walk-in foot-ramp. Avcen has developed its own noise attenuation technologies, enabling its noise output to be lower than the latest and quietest jet engines by an additional -17 to -20 decibels. The Jetpod, with its twin-engined safety, will sell for under one million US Dollars.
Michael Robert Dacre, 53, died Sunday when the prototype aircraft crashed and burst into flames shortly after take-off from a landing strip in the northern town of Taiping, Malaysian police said.
The Star daily said Dacre was an inventor and the managing director of British-based Avcen Ltd. which planned to have the "Jetpod" eight-seater flying taxi in production by 2010.
It quoted witnesses as saying that the aircraft attempted to take off several times before soaring into the sky and then abruptly veering to the left and crashing to the ground.
The Jetpod was designed to have a cruising speed of 350 miles (550 kilometres) per hour, be quieter and quicker than a helicopter, and require just 125 meters to take off and 300 meters to land.
In interviews when plans for the dual jet engine aircraft were unveiled, Dacre had said he hoped the Jetpod would transform inner-city transport.
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