AVCEN Jetpod

The Jetpod is a design proposal for a very quiet aircraft that can take off and land in short distances (STOL), developed by Avcen Limited, a company which was incorporated on 18 October 1988 and is currently a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company, Profit Sky Group Ltd. A number of applications have been proposed, including as a military transport, an executive transport, and as a short to medium-range air taxi. Avcen Limited is the British-based headquarters while Avcen Limited Malaysia is based at Patimas Technology Centre, Technology Park, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.

According to Avcen's publicity materials, the Jetpod's maximum speed is 550 km/h (340 mph; 300 kn). It would need only 125 metres (137 yards) to take-off or land, allowing runways to be constructed close to the center of major cities, and would be sufficiently quiet to not be noticeable above city traffic. The trip from Heathrow Airport to central London would take about four minutes and cost about $100.

On 16 August 2009, the just completed prototype Jetpod crashed, killing the founder of Avcen, Michael Robert Dacre, who was the sole occupant. Dacre had attempted to take off three times and on the fourth successfully lifted off before stalling and crashing. According to Taiping deputy police chief Syed A. Wahab Syed A. Majid, the company had not obtained permission from the Royal Malaysian Air Force to conduct the flight tests.