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Jet Pack Runs For Hours On Water
Ponca City, We love you writes "Jet packs have been around for half a century, but there's always been one problem: they run out of fuel in around 30 seconds. Now a German company has taken the standard jet pack design, run a fat yellow hose out the back, and connected it to a small unmanned boat that houses an engine, pump, and fuel tank and sends pressurized water up the hose, where it's shot out by two nozzles just behind the wearer's shoulders. Called the JetLev-Flyer, the design purportedly can reach a height of 15 meters, a speed of 72 kph, and a range of 300 kilometers based on four hours of flying time. A digital fly-by-wire system is used to control the throttle. Future designs may achieve higher altitudes, higher top speeds, and extended range, and even travel below the water's surface. The American manufacturers claim it is 'amazingly easy to learn and operate' and they're taking orders now at $130,000 each."
and a range of 300 kilometers based on four hours of flying time.
But based on the actual length of the hose, the range is more like 100 feet.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
I assume this is dragging the boat after you.
What exactly are the advantages over just simply using a boat?
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... that is, not to have any wires or hoses connecting it to something else on the ground or in the air. Duh.
Seriously, these guys take some sort of high-output water pump and call it a jet pack?
One of the earliest uses for balloons and large kites was to tow an elevated observer behind a ship. I guess navies will be extremely interested in this. It's much less visible than a helicopter, cheaper, and safer, yet it permits over-the-horizon observation. Think of pirates off Somalia. Currently they can easily see and avoid ships, but fast patrol boats can't see them beyond a few miles. With one of these a small intercept craft can see the pirates, while remaining almost invisible themselves. Think of it as a floating artillery OP and the uses are obvious.
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Most people are missing the point of this. It isn't a sensible solution, it is a FUN solution. I would love to have a go.
wot no sig
So... what's it going to be used for? Rescuing cats from trees along the river?
Basically the same use case as a parasail towed behind a ski boat. They are a lot of fun, actually.
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Same for flying cars. Just look at the number of *regular* car accidents. Adding an extra degree of freedom will not exactly lower down that number.
It looked fine in Back to the Future Part 2. How hard could it be? They had floating lane dividers and everything. The only problem I can see is that it will add a whole new dimension to being "double-parked".
You can advertise in this sig from as little as £99.99 a month!
Is this going to replace/augment the firetruck with a more flexible and maneuverable rescue platform?
Who says that it needs to be connected to a boat.
But at least it is compatible with over 70% of the earth's surface
There, fixed that for you.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Clap on: Amazing device that is completely useless.
Clap off: Recession (and reality) checks in. End of extremely useless device.
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So basically you're at the end of an uncontrolled firehose tethered to a boat? Didn't Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin do this?