Company Demos Personal Aircraft, Future Jetpack

coondoggie writes "Earlier this week researchers with the company ESG Elektroniksystem in Germany demonstrated a form of 'strap-on jet wing' that lets a user truly fly through the air. The system, called Gryphon, consists of a six-foot wing and hand-held rotary controls for the rudder. The pilot has several different instruments available to him, including onboard oxygen and helmet that features a heads-up display. 'Researchers say the final version of the flying wing will contain an electronic system that will take care of some of the steering for the pilot which today can be a little tricky, researchers say. The company also plans to add small jets to the wing making it a true jetpack in the future.'"

Comments

Re:Safety..?

[(H)elix1]

It's not in the capability of an average man to pilot his own personal plane, be it just pair of wings on his back, unless a computer does 99.9% of the job. And if it does it, then it better be coordinated centrally with all other flying personal jets in the area.

I suspect you over estimate how hard it is to learn to fly. I flew solo after 10 hours of instruction, and that was with some pucker factor built in. Learning to crash (gracefully) and navigate ate up another 30 hours, and another 4 hours practicing for the test. The hardest part might just be the medical. (grin) Once you get past remembering to put the gear down, jet engine is not much harder than a constant speed prop.

As for signing stuff... depends on how they license this thing. They sell it as under 'sport aircraft' regs, it takes even less training to fly less than even experimental. Usually the gating factor is getting someone willing to insure you.