Flying taxis to hit cities 'within five years'

9.00am - By JONATHAN BROWN

The makers of a British designed "Jetpod" taxi, which they hope to introduce to British cities within five years, insist they will definitely take you to your destination by the shortest route - at 350 mph (563 kph).

Developers Avcen believe they can offer a flying taxi service which cruises at up to 228m at little more than the cost of a road-bound black cab.

Due to undergo "proof of concept" test flights in the next 18 months, the £500,000 ($1.3m) Jetpod would be able to travel the 38km from London to Woking in just four minutes.

Faster than a helicopter, Heathrow to central London would take less than half that time and, so Avcen claims, cost less that £50.

If it all sounds a little too much like Luc Besson's futuristic fantasy The Fifth Element in which Bruce Willis played a flying cab driver, doubters are being told that it will become reality if investors can be found to move it on to the next stage of development.

If they are successful the nightmare grind down the motorway to the country could become a thing of the past.

"We believe once there is an aircraft that can do these things, cities will make space for it," said Avcen managing director Mike Dacre.

"We're not talking about travelling to Paris. The whole point about this aircraft is that it will scoot you from the countryside to the centre of London in two or three minutes."

The invention will raise the hackles of anti-noise campaigners already battling against increased air traffic and soaring road use. Even though Avcen believes that the airborne taxi's twin turbojets will operate at noise levels 20 decibels less than a conventional jet - this means it could still register up to 90 decibels, the same as a busy road.

Mr Dacre describes the five-seater Jetpod as "a workhorse, a taxi cab in the air, for on-demand free-roaming traffic".

"We know that cities like Moscow, Tokyo and New York are crying out for something like this, and there's nothing remotely like it around at the moment."

The key to success is technology that allows it to land on strips of land about 120m long, a tenth of the length of a conventional runway.

A system of nozzles that directs part of the thrust down through the wings both further reduces noise, and provides the aircraft's STOL (short take-off and landing) capability.

Mr Dacre said the idea was for each aircraft to fly along its own "corridor" in and out of a city from designated pick-up points outside.

"We see it as very much as a 'park and fly' concept," said Mr Dacre.

"You drive to a pick-up site, get on the aircraft, and off you go. But people shouldn't think that these things are going to be whizzing around crashing into each other. They'll be following set routes."

- INDEPENDENT