The presenter describes a Florida police flying car shown by Florida Polytechnic University. He covers its design, police plans, FAA limits and display.
What the video covers
Written in our own words. It only describes what the video shows and says.Astro and its design
The presenter introduces Astro, a wheelless police vehicle shown by Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland on October 20th. He says the university describes its police department as the first law enforcement agency in the country to add a piloted electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. The aircraft is based on the Jetson ONE, painted in police colours and fitted with a light bar. The presenter gives the price as nearly $150,000 and notes the registration N911FP. He describes four arms holding eight electric motors, two on each arm, with about 102 horsepower, an aluminium frame, one joystick and a flight computer. He states a top speed of 63 miles per hour, about 20 minutes of flight on one charge, and a range test of just over 11 miles at 37 miles per hour.
Police plans and earlier technology
The presenter reports statements from Police Chief Aaron Murray about possible campus and regional duties. Murray says Astro could watch over the campus and surrounding land, search for missing people, respond to traffic crashes, help after storms, and deliver emergency supplies to places a patrol car cannot reach. The presenter says the department plans to assist other agencies and that Jetson says pilot officers are fully trained, including Murray. Murray calls advanced air mobility a rising technology and says agencies can be proactive or reactive. The presenter compares Astro's cost with a 2024 Fort Worth police helicopter commitment of nearly $4 million, saying Astro costs less than 4 per cent of that. He also recounts earlier police technology, including an electric police wagon in Akron, Ohio in 1899, New York City police aviation in 1929, and Chula Vista drones sent to 911 calls from 2018.
FAA approval and remaining limits
The presenter explains that Astro has not flown a police mission because the Federal Aviation Administration has not approved it. He says the Jetson ONE fits FAA ultralight rules called Part 103, which allow flight without a pilot licence but limit aircraft to one person, under 254 pounds empty, and no faster than 55 knots, about 63 miles per hour. He states ultralights cannot fly over towns or crowds, are limited to daylight hours, and are for recreation or sport only, while police patrol is neither. The presenter says the university needs approval under Part 91 or public aircraft operations, and officials expect a decision between November and late December. He lists limits with approval: one person, about 20 minutes of battery, no rain because moisture could damage the battery pack, and avoidance of strong winds. He cites Jetson trials with Poland's Mountain Rescue Service reaching Mount Luban in under four minutes in gusts up to 36 miles per hour. He adds Jetson background, including an Irvine base, a sold out order book with new orders for 2028, Florida Poly's aerospace degree, research use of flight data, the FAA eVTOL integration pilot programme, SunTrax in Auburndale, and display at Kennedy Space Center on November 7th and 8th.
