#tiny satellites

LE BOURGET, France – Planes you can park in your garage. Satellites that fit in your backpack. Some of the coolest experimental technology showcased at this week’s Paris Air Show is about thinking small – though it’s easy to get distracted by the huge aircraft performing overhead, from thundering fighter jets to the surprising near-vertical liftoff of a Boeing passenger jet. These innovative ideas may change the way we travel, wage wars or explore space. Here are five that stood out at this year’s show, which runs through Sunday: When cars fly Sick of traffic-clogged commutes or island-hopping via slow ferries? Travelers may soon be able to fly their own single-seat private jet, small enough to fit in a garage. Polish company Metal Master showcased its single-engine Flaris jet, an experimental plane that weighs just 1,540 pounds, less than half of an average car. It’s about the size of a car but rings up at $1.7 million. Test pilot Maciej Peikert said the company expects the jets will “commute between areas where the infrastructure is relatively poor, or between islands or in mountains.” The plane’s glass cockpit fits a single pilot and it flies below the normal cruising height of regional commercial altitudes. Hits at Paris Air Show: Vertical lift-off, tiny satellites

LE BOURGET, France - Planes you can park in your garage. Satellites that fit in your backpack. Hits at Paris Air Show: Vertical lift-off, tiny satellites

LE BOURGET, France (AP) — Planes you can park in your garage. Satellites that fit in your backpack. Hits at Paris Air Show: Vertical lift-off, tiny satellites