Company Demos Personal Aircraft, Future Jetpack 98
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.'"
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Remember kiddies, this is not a real jet pack (Score:5, Informative)
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 (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Remember kiddies, this is not a real jet pack (Score:4, Interesting)
I know it goes against
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!
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--Wade
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I guess being a paratrooper you never got much time for good sex then. Unless you good ole boys packed the vaseline for those "quiet" nights.
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You just need to use your own bi-carb soda and vinegar solution. The forums are coming soon where you can discuss optimal thrust ratios.
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You are correct, it appears to be just a more technical (and perhaps better) form of the "Flying Squirrel" suit [youtube.com]. I'm not sure how that suit would work in high-altitude drops or how it compares for surface area. Also, keeping your arms and legs spread like that over a long fall is probably pretty tiring, but being able to pull them in and drop faster might be useful.
Looks fun in any case.
this is not a real jet pack, yet. (Score:2)
It might be with the addition of a rocket:
The strong part above is mine. Nothing's perfect.
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By the look of it it probably does have a better glide ratio than wingsuits. But still way under 10:1.
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He has a working civilian version with engines strong enough for ascending.
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http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jet-man&search=Search [youtube.com]
This is more "conventional":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gcurwcPs3U [youtube.com]
Other people playing in a boring way:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THEcWrznicY [youtube.com]
And this is just for fun, with model rockets:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mjUZEsduIE [youtube.com]
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Daedalus (Score:1, Funny)
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We had those in the '80s (Score:4, Funny)
This sounds like... (Score:5, Funny)
A sickening thud. Re:This sounds like... (Score:2)
a jet-powered vehicle where the frontmost thing is your head? At 135mph?
At that speed, I don't think heads first or tail first matters.
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I, no ... well (Score:5, Funny)
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I had a few as well, but at least I tried.
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P.S. Does anyone else other than coders use nested parenthesis in writing something in English?
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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 (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.spelco.eu/edit/content/file/DV141174_en/060817-zdf-heute-gryphon.mpg/Get.aspx [spelco.eu]
http://www.spelco.eu/edit/content/file/DV141185_en/060827-spiegel-gryphon.mpg/Get.aspx [spelco.eu]
http://www.spelco.eu/edit/content/file/DV141196_en/060915-galileo-gryphon.mpg/Get.aspx [spelco.eu]
http://www.spelco.eu/edit/content/file/DV141207_en/Welt_der_Wunder.mpg/Get.aspx [spelco.eu]
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Dude! (Score:2)
Safety..? (Score:3, Insightful)
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..? (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
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If they are having trouble with the jet (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHYXrqoS08o [youtube.com]
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From the picture in TFA, though, I remember seeing a diagram of an almost identical strap-on wing about two years ago (which equals eternity in Net time) on one of the "what's happening in defense research" websites; apparently they finally got enough of the bugs out of the design to be putting people up in the air with them. The original plans for the device, though, were to have i
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Personally, I'd really like to see something like this with ground take-off capable and 3+ hr endurance. But I can see this as a success story and not just a cool blip on the radar like hover scooters or Segway's.
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More videos and photos on M. Rossy's website [jet-man.com] (and a new sponsor...)
I like M. Rossy's concept a lot. Besides the folding mechanism, the wing is very simple - no control surfaces, just a trim to adjust the angle of attack when the jets are on (and of course the throttle). All control (roll, pitch, jaw) is done through traditional skydiving techniques. That, and having to unfold the wing after the jump, requires a very experienced skydiver tho...
I bet his wing
Ridiculous (Score:2)
This is the supposed design of the Gryphon [networkworld.com].
Apart from making the man "wearing" it look like a douchebag (what is this, an airplane Halloween costume?), it has the extra benefit putting your head right on front, so you can enjoy the potential impact at its full force.
This better be some hell of a helmet he has.
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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.
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As opposed to a full design where you have an ejectable seat and other safety measures built in.
Let's see what's the road equivalent of this plane: a motorcycle. No airbag, belt, ability to absorb chock as a full blown automobile can. Hence you're in a much bigger risk being in an accident with motorcycle than a car (statistically, and logically).
And this is without putting your head right on front of the bike. This thing looks laughable. But
your new design? (Score:2)
I think you are failing to realize that when the wings are ON YOUR BACK there is NOTHING TO EJECT FROM! You just need to unclip from the wings and you're fine... they will fly away. They you pull your chute.'
But lets examine your design enhancements:
Yeah, so you'd be sitting in a seat...good idea. Nice and confy. maybe be goos for a few gauges too.
maybe put the wings on the seat too... hmm, yes. and the fuel in
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I think you're failing to understand that for this thing to be usable, you need engines on it. And if the engines catch fire, or go otherwise wrong, the parachute will be useless if it's embedded right next to the engines.
Good thing you're not making planes I guess.
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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 th
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The one thing I'm wary about is that the device will contain both jet fuel and oxygen, both in close quarters to your body. In the time it would take for the oxygen tank to explode in an equipment malfunction, you likely wouldn't have time to release the jets from the pack. At least with a jet there's a bit of shielding.
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Dumb assed drivers... (Score:2)
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And you really think that the painted lines help the cell phone douchebags?
Trust me, I'd much prefer to have three dimensions. If I change my flight level then there's practically zero chance of intersecting with idiots at another flight level. Remember "The Wrath of Khan." [wikipedia.org]
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something like this before... (Score:1)
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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 [wikipedia.org].
Practical? (Score:1)
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Well, looks like someone has to change the joke... (Score:3, Funny)
since they're now one and the same...
*grin*
Kinda tricky? (Score:2)
IANAP, but I figure the landings are probably the trickiest, followed by the take-offs. But there's also the issue of avoiding a bunch of other idiots not looking where they're flying while talking on their cell phones that kind has me concerned. Is it going to have radar and a computer that can avoid smashing
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FAA regulations and whatnot (Score:2)
That along with the number of Mid-flight deaths...but they say it isn't the fall that kills you, but the sudden stop at the end of the fall.
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I don't want the Common Man to have these.....Considering that the Common Man has enough trouble driving a car to begin with.
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You can go out right now and get th
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Here are a basic list on restrictions for ultralight operation.
Used only for sport and recreation
Daylight operations only
No operations over congested areas
Used by a single occupant
Maximum five gallons of fuel
Yield right-of-way to all other aircraft
O
Looks like something... (Score:2)
Researchers say, (Score:2)
Researchers say!
Looks like a fat birdie to me ;) (Score:2)
Wondering this guy has big orange beak attached to the front to his helmet and white parachute as his paunch. Would be sexy
Jetpack (Score:1)
Great! Now I will have something to spend all those Pepsi Points on.
Another jet pack (Score:2, Interesting)
awesome jet pack [youtube.com]
Jetpack video (Score:1)
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/simulator+2004/video/xu5k0_jetman-lhomme-a-reaction_news [dailymotion.com]
Men on Fire (Score:1)
I have seen this before...deja vu? (Score:1)
Karem
for sure? (Score:1)
Watch out for the demo... (Score:2)
If they get Bill Dube to do a static test burn [slashdot.org], don't get in front of him!
In the future (Score:2)