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Personal Jet Pack for X-mas!

Posted by michael on from the darwin-awards dept.

teamhasnoi writes "This guy has spent mucho time and money building a ducted fan 'jet pack'. No faking for this guy, it looks like there is some real technology there. Now he just needs a sponsor."

4 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. Deja vu all over again! by DoraLives · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Didn't we just do this with somebody elses rig? Didn't we already decide we didn't want these people falling out of the sky all over us?

    Did I miss something somewhere along the (very short) line?

    Neat looking rig though.

    --
    Is it fascism yet?
  2. This is why I buy german cars by lingqi · · Score: 5, Insightful
    he had it tested at MTU (Motoren und Turbinen Union) to be sure it will stand the design speed of his engine (65krpm) and has got a sufficient safety margin. This wheel had been accelerated 2000 times up to 75krpm and will still have to be tested a few hundered times at 82krpm.

    Now... why I get a feeling that Ford does not put this much into their quality assurance? maybe because the windshield wiper burns and explodes if it's set on high for more than 30 seconds (as *one* example)

    --

    My life in the land of the rising sun.

  3. Re:Military Applications? by MegaHamsterX · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I would yell, SKEET!!

    As the machine gun fire hit them they would relize James Bond is not at all realistic.

  4. Has this guy considered contacting DEKA? by cheezus_es_lard · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I mean, they might be interested in helping with and/or providing logic / software for control and stabilization based on attitude, in addition, possibly control based on shift of body attitude, like a hang-glider, but based on posi sensors or something. Possibly in return for sponsorship (big SegWay sticker on the back, or maybe DEKA gets first dibs on production or some such).

    I'd love to see the plans for this released on the 'net. I'm no machinist, but I know some guys who are pretty capable. I'm sure the four of us could team up to build one of these... as long as we could scrape up the cash. If it's possible, that'd be very cool, even if they had to be purchased (just make it reasonable!).

    I was thinking as well, the platform isn't very production-capable due to the suspension system. The person belts in like the Bell Rocket Belt did, suspended in a chest harness, and skydiving-style leg straps. That means, that controlling the machine relies on the ability of the user to keep himself on his elbows on the control bars, while the leg straps help suspend him. This isn't really a good way to make a widely-accessable vehicle. Besides the fact that the unavoidable high weight issues require some sort of feet, the system itself needs to carry the user, much as a car does. There should probably be a SMALL plate at the bottom, connected by a pair of rods (or a large single rear rod) to the chassis. This could also be the basis for the body-orientated direction control. I would think that in addition to this, the chest harness would be used, and in addition, making the joysticks adjustable for height and so on would be an option. Also, there could be a fold-down adjustable seat that the user could sit on as well. The feet could be deployable for landing, and there could be a collapsing-into-backpack capability (the footrest retracts, the seat/footrest folds backwards, the nozzles all fold in, the joysticks fold inwards and stow behind the user, and he walks around with a relatively heavy backpack (or possibly it could have wheels to roll around on).

    This is just an outpouring of my stoned mind, please forgive anything that doesn't make sense.

    Merry Christmas and all that jazz,
    -cheezus_maximus (new nick coming soon!!)