Flight testingZapata
AirScooter
Petrol-electric hybrid personal VTOL (not all-electric)
Zapata's AirScooter is a single-seat petrol-electric hybrid VTOL from Franky Zapata, the inventor of the Flyboard Air. Zapata lists a 63 mph top speed, 50 mph cruise, 2 h flight time, 260 lb max payload and a 250 lb weight. It is not all-electric: its patented hybrid-electric propulsion burns petrol from a 5-gallon tank. It uses computer-assisted fly-by-wire controls. Zapata says it complies with FAA Part 103, so it can be flown in the US without a pilot licence. It first flew unmanned in December 2023, and its first manned flight was on 7 June 2025. Zapata says the aircraft will be available in 2027 from $250,000, and a Las Vegas-area flight center selling experience flights also opens in 2027. Range is not published. Because it burns petrol, it is not an all-electric eVTOL. Not type-certified.
- Range
- Not published
(varies with speed, reserves, and how the pilot flies the mission).
- Payload
- 260 lb (118 kg) max
- Cruise
- 50 mph (80 km/h)
(chosen by the pilot, and traded against range and endurance).
- Top speed
- 63 mph (101 km/h)
- Flight time
- 2 h
(varies with the speed the pilot selects and the reserves kept for the mission).
- Price
- From $250,000 (available 2027)
- Empty weight
- Not published
- Seats
- 1
- Battery / fuel
- Petrol-electric hybrid: burns petrol (5 US gal tank); not all-electric
- Size
- 3.75 × 4.00 × 2.60 m
- First flight
- Dec 2023 (unmanned); first manned flight 7 Jun 2025
- Entry into service
- Available 2027 (Zapata target); Las Vegas-area flight center opens 2027
Full figures
- Top speed
- 63 mph
- Cruise speed
- 50 mph
- Flight time
- 2 h
- Max payload
- 260 lb
- Weight
- 250 lb (Zapata; not stated whether empty or max)
- Size
- 375 × 400 × 260 cm (L × W × H)
- Power
- petrol-electric hybrid (Zapata: patented hybrid-electric propulsion); burns petrol from a 5 US gal tank; not all-electric
- Controls
- computer-assisted fly-by-wire
- Flight experience
- vouchers at airscooter.shop, early-bird $400 ($500 standard), Las Vegas-area center opening 2027
- Maker
- Zapata, founded by Franky Zapata (Flyboard Air, JetRacer)
- Price
- From $250,000; aircraft available 2027
For
- 2 h flight time and 260 lb payload (Zapata figures)
- Published $250,000 starting price
Against
- Burns petrol (hybrid); not all-electric
- Not orderable yet; available 2027