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Another Pass at the Personal Jetpack

Engadget is reporting that dreams of a personal jet pack may not be quite as distant as you might think. Skywalker Jets, created by Rick Herron boasts a 90-pound jet pack capable of propelling a 200-pound pilot through the air for about five minutes without the hassle of charred lower extremities. The production model, which he hopes to run past the FAA soon for approval, will only cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of $200,000 — so start saving your pennies.

17 of 259 comments (clear)

  1. FAA? by gardyloo · · Score: 4, Funny

    The production model, which he hopes to run past the FAA soon for approval [...]

          Ah, yes. The good old "If I run fast enough it looks like my feet are off the ground" ploy.

    1. Re:FAA? by pizza_milkshake · · Score: 4, Funny
      ...jet pack capable of propelling a 200-pound pilot through the air for about five minutes...

      READ: the average slashdotter will need 2.

  2. Re:I can just see it now by gurudyne · · Score: 5, Funny

    "plummetting down like bags of wet cement."

    No, no. They will plummet down SCREAMING. They will SPLASH like bags of wet cement.

    --
    Hey, Mom! Is it beer, yet?
  3. Skywalker is a great name for a jetpack by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Gee, EveryOne Really Gets Excited Laughing Up Cool Aero-vehicles. Still, We're In Luck. Landing Seems Uncompromisingly Easy.

  4. I want the full meaning. by spysmily1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    "without the hassle of charred lower extremities"

    Instead you just have lightly baked lower extremeties with a touch of fried groins.

    --
    Videogames made me kill people...I also eat mushrooms to grow bigger.
  5. Yellow bar? by gardyloo · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sure glad it's got that yellow bar across the front of it for safety, just in case people can't see the freaking FLAMES and SMOKE, can't smell the FLESH, and can't hear the ROAR and the SCREAMING.

  6. That's all well and good ... by Average_Joe_Sixpack · · Score: 5, Funny

    Skywalker Jets, created by Rick Herron boasts a 90 pound jet pack capable of propelling a 200 pound pilot through the air
     
    ... but what about we Americans?

  7. Back when I was still flying by GMontag · · Score: 5, Funny

    Back when I was still flying (Army National National Guard, rotary wing) the landing checklist no longer included a fuel check (made sense to me).

    However, the "old guys" were in the habit of a fuel check before landing.

    One flight I finally responded to "fuel check" with "enough to land".

    The Pilot-in-Command responded: "How much?"

    Me: "Enough to land"

    He: "If you did not calculate it how do you know?"

    Me: "I don't have to calculate it. With or without fuel we are going to land."

  8. checklist by AlgorithMan · · Score: 5, Funny

    [X] Jetpack
    [X] Nightvision
    [X] Steroids
    [X] Medikit
    [X] Armor
    [ ] holoduke
    [ ] atomic health

    --
    The MAFIAA is a bunch of mindless jerks who will be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes
  9. Re:For range, stick with blades by nosredna · · Score: 5, Funny

    When the personal helicopter is more utilitarian than the product you're marketing, it's probably time to go back to the drawing board.

  10. Skywalker? by dfn5 · · Score: 3, Funny
    I think a more apt name would've been The Fett Jett.

    --
    -- Thou hast strayed far from the path of the Avatar.
  11. The video is hilarious by cryptomancer · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Cables holding me down.." No, I can just barely see the wires the's suspended by, in his backyard, with his mom watching as he lifts his feet off the ground to pretend that he's flying. ...I'm sorry, even if it's legit and that's not his mom, the video is kinda funny.

    --
    Yes, we understand these tags always apply: fud, dupe, typo, slashdotted, topic name
  12. Re:I can just see it now by CptNerd · · Score: 4, Funny

    Paraphrasing "WKRP in Cincinnati":

    "As God is my witness, I thought geeks could fly!"

    --
    By the taping of my glasses, something geeky this way passes
  13. Re:For $200k, I'll stick with airplanes... by gardyloo · · Score: 4, Funny

    VTOL stand for Very Tragic Ordeal with Lacerations, right?

  14. Re:I can just see it now by scottblascocomposer · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, the divers can't land on you.

    --
    To reign is to serve.
  15. Re:I can just see it now by Duhavid · · Score: 3, Funny

    Evolution in Action?

    --
    emt 377 emt 4
  16. Re:I can just see it now by timeOday · · Score: 4, Funny

    I don't know what scares me more, the fact that you're actually worried about jet pack riders raining from the sky onto your head, or the fact that you were modded to +5.