Starling Jet: A jet airplane that takes off like a helicopter

Picture international air travel without the hassle: no costly airport transfer, no busy security line or passport control, no waiting to board or depart.

Instead, you’re in and out of the airplane in minutes and jet setting across the world to your destination in no time at all.

According to SAMAD Aerospace, the UK-based mastermind behind a new high-tech, dynamic airplane called the Starling Jet, this dream could soon be a business travel reality.

This high speed aircraft, which seats four passengers plus a pilot, uses vertical take off and landing for maximum efficiency and effortless cool.

Once airborne, the jet travels at speeds of 450 miles per hour (724 kph).

Unveiled at the Singapore Air Show in January 2018, the jet is still being perfected, but its engineers hope it’ll be soaring through the skies by 2020.

Revolutionizing business travel

The Starling Jet could be soaring through the skies come 2020.

“Our dream is to revolutionize the way humans and goods fly around the world,” says SAMAD CEO Seyed Mohseni in a statement. “Imagine a transportation which is safer than a car, completely flexible, as eco-friendly as an electric vehicle, less time consuming than any plane or train and as luxurious as a private jet.”

SAMAD says the concept is ideally suited to politicians and big corporations, thanks to its speed and luxurious amenities.

Airbus Vahana: Airbus announced in November 2017 that it's ready to being flight testing on Vahana, an unmanned electrical aircraft designed to move a passenger or small cargo within urban environments.

Airbus Vahana: The full-scale Vahana receives its vinyl wrapping at A3's facilities in Santa Clara, California, before making its way north in preparation for flight testing in Oregon.

Airbus Vahana: The reassembled Vahana is pictured at Pendleton Hangar, a new 9,600-square-foot hangar at Eastern Oregon Regional Airport. Click through for six more electric aircraft which you could be flying in soon.

CityAirbus: Another futuristic concept that Airbus is working on is CityAirbus, with a maiden flight scheduled for 2018. Just like Vahana, it's self-piloted and will be able to take off and land vertically, making it ideally suited for urban use.

CityAirbus: The difference is that CityAirbus will be able to carry up to four passengers. "We are confident their operating costs will make them competitive with traditional taxis," says Glenn Llewellyn, General Manager, Electrification at Airbus.

Zunum Aero: Boeing has invested, together with JetBlue Technology Ventures, in Seattle-based startup Zunum Aero. The initial hybrid-electric concept will be able to carry 12 passengers up to 700 miles, but it's been designed with scalability in mind.

Eviation Aircraft: Eviation Aircraft, an Israeli startup founded by Omer Bar-Yohay, also focuses on the short-range regional market. Bar-Yohay's background is in the electric vehicle industry.

Eviation Aircraft: Eviation is a sleek nine-passenger, self-piloted, all-electric aircraft intended to operate primarily in the 100 to 600 mile range (although the aircraft will have a longer maximum range).

Eviation Aircraft: "This is a market where the overwhelming majority of the journeys are now made by car, as it is not efficient to fly commercial. We are here to change this," says Bar-Yohay.

NASA X-57 Maxwell: NASA X-57 Maxwell's unusual configuration features 14 electrical motors, all of them integrated into a specially designed high wing.

NASA X-57 Maxwell: The two larger motors at the wingtips reduce drag associated with wingtip vortices. It's designed to bring about a 500% efficiency increase when cruising at higher speeds.

Pipistrel Alpha Electro: Here's an electric aircraft which has reached production stage and is market-ready. The Pipistrel Alpha Electro is a Slovenian-made two-seater.

Pipistrel Alpha Electro: Powered by a 60-kilowatt electric engine developed by Siemens, the Alpha Electro can stay airborne for about an hour. It costs $129,800.

Wright Electric: In September 2017, US startup Wright Electric announced that it had partnered with European low-cost airline EasyJet in order to develop an all-electric airliner.

Wright Electric: Wright Electric's goal is to develop an airliner in the 120-186 seat range capable of flying distances of up to 335 miles. That would be enough to cover a short-haul route like Paris to London or New York to Boston.

Electric planes: Flights of the future?

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The Starling Jet is also billed as eco-friendly. It’s creators say it’ll emit less C02 due to hybrid engines offering electric and diesel propulsion.

The new design is part of a fleet of Starling jets currently in the works from SAMAD. The UAV Starling is also fully electric and being pitched as perfect for transportation and observatory missions.

The E-Starling is bigger – another good business travel option.

The Starling Jet that’s the company’s pride. SAMAD thinks it fills a gap in the market, even if it shares similarities with other high-speed aircraft prototypes, including Lilium and Vahana.

Development

Developers working on the project estimate production will cost roughly ￡90 million.

The cost of developing this idea from blueprint to blue sky will be roughly $125 million, but Mohseni’s team is confident it’ll become a reality.

The plethora of jets of this type in design seems to indicate there’s a demand for high speed, eco-friendly aircrafts.

“Our products give back their user’s most valuable asset – time – hence allowing them to achieve more than they would have ever dreamt of,” adds Mohseni.

He also speculates the development of the jet could create thousands of jobs in manufacturing, research and development.