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Another Pass at the Personal Jetpack

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the time-to-buzz-the-tower dept.

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.

8 of 259 comments (clear)

  1. I can just see it now by AdvancedLoser · · Score: 5, Insightful

    people who forget to check how much fuel they have left while still hundreds of metres in the air plummetting down like bags of wet cement.

    1. Re:I can just see it now by Z0mb1eman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What's the difference from divers who forget to check how much O2 they have before they dive?

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    2. Re:I can just see it now by Inquisitus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The divers are only harming themselves.

  2. Insurance? by __aaakhl8499 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    whatever about the cost of purchasing, running and maintaining one of these - I can't imagine any insurance company taking on the risk that the pilot won't do serious damage to property and by-standers.

    The insurance premium will be huge.

  3. Re:Why? by linvir · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The crowd won't exactly be 10 feet off the ground. One guy will be 50 meters up and heading east to his job. Another will be 30 meters up and heading northeast. Another 100 meters up heading south, and so on and so on.

    Once they've figured out the jetpack technology, they're going to have to get to work on some pretty clever crash prevention tech as well.

  4. For $200k, I'll stick with airplanes... by kcbrown · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Lessee...the plane:

    • costs about the same
    • is much faster
    • flies much further
    • has an enclosed, heated cabin for comfort
    • and last but not least, glides in the event of an engine failure

    So why, exactly, would I spend money on this? It might have a larger coolness factor, but that'll wear off fast.

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  5. have you seen the jeep commercial? by way2trivial · · Score: 4, Insightful

    (is it jeep?) where the guy kisses his wife, and parachutes into the canyon to his car?/ how do you think exactly, he goes from the driveway back to his house...

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  6. Re:5 minutes?! by Burning1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The Bugatti Vayron is the worlds fastest production car. It's top speed is 250MPH. At that speed, the only place it can be used is on a speedway. It's fuel supply will last all of 17 minutes.

    It's my dream car.

    The wright brothers first flight didn't even last a minute. It was worth it.

    Utility isn't the only measure of value.