The Truth About New Jet Pack Hype

An anonymous reader writes "This week a sub-$100,000 rocket belt was unveiled and will be on sale this summer, but that's the sad thing: it's still not a real jet pack. Here's a fascinating inside look at the human-flight industry, full of law-suit scandals, technical difficulties, fuel-economy woes and endless delays. The good news? It all points to the next generation of rocketeer research, with real applications for medical rescue and military technology actually coming on the horizon. From the article: 'With a little patience, and a little funding, we could actually have the pleasure of grumbling over regulatory issues we never dreamed possible. Like being limited to specific kinds of air strips, because the jet strapped to your back is classified by the FAA as an ultralight. Or being required to wear a ballistic parachute, because Amarena's Thunderjet design could reach altitudes as high as 10,000 feet (and, for the record, speeds of up to 160 mph, provided someone can solve wind-resistance issues).'"

Comments

Re:orly

[Stanistani]

You just need to find someone who is aerodynamically curvaceous.

Imagine a pair of these in the trunk

[Babu 'God' Hoover]

of your flying car. You could go anywhere!

soccor moms

[BigJClark]

I just had a mental image of soccor moms firing themselves into walls at biblical porportions, drinking a latte, chatting on the cel phone,

I hope there is an IQ minimum *shudder*

Re:soccor moms

[4D6963]

I hope there is an IQ minimum

Nah, IQ tests are too long to pass. Would be much quicker to ask people to spell out "soccer" instead.

Insensitive clod

[sam_paris]

You insensitive clod, you just killed my dreams of being the rocketeer

:'(

Re:Jetpacks are just a bad idea

[Dancindan84]

Put in a gyro and a directional laser and a computer to control it all and you're good to go. This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down.
If the problem persists, contact the program vendor.

"*&^%!! REBOOOooo...___"

Bah! Wind Resistance Issues

[Phoenix666]

I solve wind resistance issues by coating myself with astroglide.

Re:Bah! Wind Resistance Issues

[Overzeetop]

Who let Richard Gere's gerbil post to slashdot?

Re:Jetpacks are just a bad idea

[somersault]

All that tension, stress, and road rage, not to mention the speed traps. It is so dangerous and inefficient. Absolutely correct. All you should really need for jetpack commutes in busy airspace is a jousting pole, a good helmet, and perhaps some air to air missiles

Re:Jetpacks are just a bad idea

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder how different the parent post is from what people had to say when they first heard internal combustion engines...

As seen on the bulletin board in a small English town:

> First!!1!

> I, for one, welcome our new internally combusted overlords.

> The problem with the "internal combustion engine" is that it is an inherently foolish and inefficient idea. That much power, in that small a space, with a highly inflammable fuel makes for a nasty combo. Creating that many small controlled explosions can be very tricky, even for a well-trained human operator.

> And there is the noise. I've been within 100 yards of one in operation, and conversation with the person next to me was impossible. They really are not fit for urban areas.

Re:Jetpacks are just a bad idea

[dzfoo]

I'm pretty sure there's prior art on that. People call him Spider-Guy, or something.

      -dZ.

Re:Jetpacks are just a bad idea

[Anonymous Coward]

People were right about the internal combustion engines.

It's all fun and games until

[unassimilatible]

you get behind some asshole on his cellphone.

Re:Jetpacks are just a bad idea

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think they'd make a good transportation tool, but quick jumps to rooftops would be great for roofers, antenna installers, chimney inspectors, billboard painters... anyone who needs quick access to a high spot that doesn't have easy stair access.

There is only one such application I can think of - firefighting. Firefighters' "reactive belts" should be powered by pressurized water, from the firehose umbilical. Water beats any propellant gas, because of its density and resulting reactive push. Once the flying firefighters reach the windows or the roof and can step on a solid support, they could cut the water out from their flight belt nozzles and redirect it to hand-aimed extinguisher nozzle with a flip of a valve (bad thing to do while in flight, of course), to carry on with their mission. Furthermore, another nozzle could be used to cut the doors or dry walls down, instead using the hatchet.