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

Remember kiddies, this is not a real jet pack

[cmowire]

If you read the article, you see that there's not an engine in the thing right now.

This is a short and unwieldy wing that straps on your back and lets you fly farther from where you got dropped out of an airplane. You still need a parachute to land. You still need a real aircraft to lift you up for you to start your flight.

Not nearly as impressive as the headline seems to indicate.

Re:Remember kiddies, this is not a real jet pack

[MrDoh1]

Way to burst everyone's bubble by reading the article.

Re:Remember kiddies, this is not a real jet pack

[rts008]

See this link in TFA to help keep your bubble from completely bursting.http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,428830,00.html

I know it goes against /. rules to RTFA, much less check out links in TFA, but in this case I did.

Disclaimer: I was a paratrooper, and this intrigued me...I wish I could be a part of bringing this about, but my teflon kneecaps (from the last jump I ever made...#433) dissuade me from trying to keep up with the young ones now.

I wish them all of the success in the world for this, military AND civilian applications!
Fsck hang gliding, parasailing, etc...jump out of a C-130 at 20,000 ft. with a Gryphon and an O2 bottle and CRUISE like superman for more than a few very short minutes before having to 'pop the chute' and worry about the ground!

Pedants need not reply...If you haven't went HALO, you have no concept of WTF is going on here!
The only possible better physical experience than HALO, is HALO with sex...but there is that whole windchill/cold temp thing to deal with!

Re:Remember kiddies, this is not a real jet pack

[jeti]

However, it's worth to follow the link to Yves Rossy.
He has a working civilian version with engines strong enough for ascending.

Re:Remember kiddies, this is not a real jet pack

[phoenixwade]

Pedants need not reply...If you haven't went HALO, you have no concept of WTF is going on here! The only possible better physical experience than HALO, is HALO with sex...but there is that whole windchill/cold temp thing to deal with! The Master Chief says there are Two things better than HALO - and one of them is going to be released next week.

--Wade

We had those in the '80s

[Hamsterdan]

Well, at least GI Joe and Cobra had them :)

This sounds like...

[kaan]

... an advanced, high-tech way to die. Seriously, a jet-powered vehicle where the frontmost thing is your head? At 135mph?

Re:This sounds like...

[TechForensics]

This is very old news. Almost fifty years ago rigid wing assemblies, or "Batwings" as they were called, were banned in the skydiving community as simply too dangerous. Let's hope the present inventors (or maybe they are better called engineers) can do better.

I, no ... well

[ScrewMaster]

There's got to be a good strap-on joke in here somewhere but I'm too many beers down to come up with it.

Re:I, no ... well

[YrWrstNtmr]

A couple more, and it probably can't come up.

Re:I, no ... well

[Em Adespoton]

P.S. Does anyone else other than coders use nested parenthesis in writing something in English?

Well, the official way to do it (when you do it in English [writing, that is])is to alternate curved and square parentheses. This is similar to using nested quotes (alternating double and single quotes) where the rule tends to match in programming languages. Personally, I think that this would be useful in programming languages as well, but I don't recall seeing any that do it.

Some videos

[linhux]

In german, but anyway some pretty pictures even if you don't understand the language. :-)

http://www.spelco.eu/edit/content/file/DV141174_en/060817-zdf-heute-gryphon.mpg/Get.aspx
http://www.spelco.eu/edit/content/file/DV141185_en/060827-spiegel-gryphon.mpg/Get.aspx
http://www.spelco.eu/edit/content/file/DV141196_en/060915-galileo-gryphon.mpg/Get.aspx
http://www.spelco.eu/edit/content/file/DV141207_en/Welt_der_Wunder.mpg/Get.aspx

Re:Some videos

[E 99]

My German may be a bit rusty, but I think they were saying something about a Master Race and a new air invasion of Britain.

Safety..?

[suv4x4]

There's a reason why the more serious engineers of personal flying vehicles claim it's not possible to make it safe without making it fully automatic (computerized).

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. Automatically again.

If they ever release this thing with jet engines, they'll probably make you sign tons of legalese that they're not responsible if you die within one minute of flight, not to mention you'll not be allowed to fly above, or near, urban areas.

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.

If they are having trouble with the jet

[Clockwork Apple]

Maybe they should ask Yves Rossy how he did it... a year or so ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHYXrqoS08o

Re:Ridiculous

[deft]

As opposed to your design where the head is.... facing backwards?

thats where it has to go, and sorry, but if theres an impact, it doesnt matter WHERE the head is, it will shortly be smashed on the pavement. This system is designed to land by parachute, wings on back.

Well, looks like someone has to change the joke...

[tlhIngan]

After all, the old pilot joke that goes:

Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. Any landing where the plane can be used again is a *great* landing

since they're now one and the same...

*grin*

Re:where's my flying car

[Jane Q. Public]

You will not see people commuting in "flying cars" until there is fully automatic flight and traffic control. To do otherwise would be utter mayhem. Only recently -- with cell phones and their towers -- have we established that we actually have the technology to build such an automated traffic-control network. And you had better believe that it will be some years before it is built, because you will have to convince someone that they can make a profit on it.

Re:something like this before...

[Jaxoreth]

wasn't there some strap-on wing and w/e developed for us special forces?

You're thinking of an actual rocketpack prototype that was invented by Howard Hughes in 1938 and stolen by the Nazis for the purpose of creating a flying army, though it was accidentally destroyed soon after they acquired it. The FBI managed to keep the whole thing secret until about 1991, when news of the incident became public.

Re:your new design?

[Anonymous Coward]

This craft is not a plane; it is much much closer to powered hang glider. Either way, a crash is likely to be fatal regardless the location of the head of the operator. Surviving a catastrophic failure in a powered hang glider will amount to your ability to release and utilize a parachute.

I get the distinct feeling that you are not a member of the aerospace community in any way shape or form. You simply cannot get the safety you want in such a small air vehicle. There is a reason that every aspect in the professional aerospace industry from the pilots, inspection staff and maintenance crew require many many hours of training to get their certification. In addition, with proper inspection and maintenance the vehicle won't have a catastrophic failure. Although you cannot prepare for every situation, it is far more likely that the risk to the pilots will be due to their own failures instead of the failures of the craft.

So, get back in your SUV 4x4 and fuck off, dimwit.

Another jet pack

[biomass]

A nice video demonstration of an
awesome jet pack

Re:FAA regulations and whatnot

[Charcharodon]

Actually something like this is already regulated, but not in the way you think. There probably will be absolutley no requirements to get one other than a credit card or cash, since it's so small. The only restrictions will be where you fly it (airspace restriction) Whether it's a Rocketeer outfit or some yahoo with a lawnchair, 2 dozen helium ballons, and a BB-gun doesn't matter because the FAA could care less as long is it doesn't get in the way of regular aircraft.

You can go out right now and get the current equivalent, para-sails and hang gliders (powered or not) and go kill yourself nearly restriction free. I see no reason why this "new" jet wing will be any different.

Re:your new design?

[lessthan]

Of course, the actual pertinent question is "Would a person willing to strap that thing on their back going to be concerned about safety?" I am going to go out on a limb and say no. So why argue about how safe it is?