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"Bureaucracies hide their mistakes, because people's careers are tied to those mistakes. Therefore, bureaucracies are a perfect mechanism for perpetuating mistakes."
- Frank Herbert

Flitter  
  A small craft used for short-range journeys.  

Then all three went out to the flitter. A tiny speedster, really; a torpedo bearing the stubby wings and the ludicrous tail-surfaces, the multifarious driving-, braking-, side-, top- and under-jets so characteristic of the tricky, cranky, but ultra-maneuverable breed.
Technovelgy from Vortex Blaster, by E.E. 'Doc' Smith.
Published by Comet in 1941
Additional resources -

Compare to the skimmer from Roger Zelazny's 1966 novel This Immortal, the skitter from Frank Herbert's 1977 novel The Dosadi Experiment and the single seat scooter from Jack Vance's 1964 novel The Star King.

And, of course, the landspeeder from George Lucas' 1978 novel Star Wars.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Vortex Blaster
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  Tech news articles related to works by E.E. 'Doc' Smith

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