You Can Buy a Personal Aircraft with Your Bitcoins

Good news for those of who didn’t already blow your Bitcoin fortunes on Christmas gifts: You can buy a plane with your digital money.

SkyCraft, a manufacturer of personal aircraft designed to be affordable and friendly for beginner pilots, has just announced that it will be accepting Bitcoin payments for its SD-1 Minisport.

This makes it the first aircraft that can be bought with Bitcoin, the company said. The price is about 80 BTC (at a BTC-USD rate of $700), but during pre-production sales buyers only need to put down a deposit of 2.85 BTC.

BitPay will handle all the transaction processing.

“This will signify an important moment for both the future of general aviation and the future of Bitcoin,” a company statement read.

Already, one plan for sure has been sold. BitInstant founder Charlie Shrem announced on Twitter that he had just bought a Minisport.

The company seems motivated truly by Bitcoin’s innovative nature, and the announcement thus appears to be more than just a publicity stunt:

“The general aviation industry has struggled in recent decades with increasing costs, outdated technology, and an aging pilot population. These issues are the basis of SkyCraft’s mission — to bring safe, affordable, high-performance flight to everyone. … Our decision to accept Bitcoin is fueled by our desire to bring general aviation into the 21st Century.”

The SD-1 Minisport will be powered by a 50-horsepower engine that should allow comfortable regional travel in the US. A plane that takes off from Los Angeles, for example, should have sufficient range to reach Phoenix, Reno or Salt Lake City.