Flying on commercial airliners is a pain in the ass no matter how much luxury they can provide you. The lavish meals, attractive air hostesses and even restrooms can’t make up for the time lost and hassle at the airports, not to mention you are bound by the flight timings too.
Now it may seem okay for most of us, but CEOs and senior corporate management of companies are always on a tight schedule, and they have to depend constantly on these private airlines for their travel. But, since not every company can afford private jets the likes of Gulfstream that cost more than 10 million $, they have to rely on these public modes of travel, and they have to do it A LOT throughout the year. This new Jet from Cobalt costs around 610,000 at an early bird price and may have the power to change the dynamics of the personal jet game as relatively smaller businesses, and organizations might be able to afford it.
The Valkyrie is a product of ten years of development by the company, and the CEO of Cobalt David Loury is ecstatic to be finally able to launch his product after so much delay. His aircraft is small and seats 3-4 people, but it has a powerful engine and long range that tells us about the actual utility of the plane. We normally take jet as a plane powered by a jet engine but that is not the case here. Private planes have also been called jets even though most of them have piston engines. Valkyrie is also powered by a rear-end piston engine with a small propeller that reminds you of the latest drones and likewise, its range is great too. Its top speed is an amazing 300 mph, but optimally it flies at 253 mph with two people onboard. It can last for 1600 miles in this configuration that is good enough for intercontinental travel if the journey is split into parts for refueling.
It has a beautiful streamlined design that looks futuristic in its own right. With a small forewing present on the front of the aircraft, it can generate a better thrust than other personal jets and get a much-needed lift in the treacherous winds.
Loury has said that the Valkyrie is finally out of prototype stage and is ready for manufacturing. Although he is giving it away at an early bird rate of 610,000 $, its retail price is expected to be around 675,000 $. So, these planes are becoming accessible for more and more people and no doubt the price will fall even further in the coming years. Any chance it might fall to 10-15,000$? Sigh!!
