Commercial Jetpack Scheduled to Arrive Next Year

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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May 9, 2000
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This is a concept that has been discussed ad nauseum since the technology finally caught up with the concept in the early ’60’s. Martin Aircraft is putting its money where its mouth is and pushing out a safe, functional jetpack to consumers in 2015.
 
Noisy as balls.... and at first I thought it was the professor's flying lazy boy recliner from futurama.

Acually, keep this and make that, thanks.
 
Very loud indeed. Any neighbours may not exactly be appreciate of those noise levels.
 
Does it make me cynical and jaded that I kept waiting for it to crash or blow up?

Eh... not all that impressive. The noise alone would make it illegal in any civilized city with noise ordinances.
 
How do they address the fuel problem? By which I mean, when the idiot user runs out of gas at 8,000 feet, what happens?
 
Yeah, it will flop big time.
That is about like calling a city bus a sports car.
The REAL jet pack was small rocket pack but yielded 30 sec or so of fly time. And it was a relatively small pack that fit on your back.
The market for small personal flying vehicles is there; but not for a monstrosity like that.
But I do see something like a smallish auto gyro flying vehicle would succeed.
Like "little Nelly" in the Bond film Bullets Never Cry or whatever it was.
A smallish vehicle like that you could land in a back yard that with the addition of fly by wire controls to make it as stupid proof as possible would sell.
 
Why not just get a powered parachute when considering this? A powered parachute is drastically cheaper, far more safe, not nearly as loud, can go just as high, and if you run out of gas or have engine failure you just float down on a parachute. You would have to take off in the same locations as the jet, and would need the same trailer to haul it... so yeah, I don't know.
 
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said:
Eh... not all that impressive. The noise alone would make it illegal in any civilized city with noise ordinances.
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I dunno, sounded like an annoying gardener with a power blower... or a couple of them at the same time :D


evilsofa said:
How do they address the fuel problem? By which I mean, when the idiot user runs out of gas at 8,000 feet, what happens?
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user gets crash course in laws of gravity?
 
evilsofa said:
How do they address the fuel problem? By which I mean, when the idiot user runs out of gas at 8,000 feet, what happens?
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I don't think you would get that high. Besides, its the same as with any other air craft that runs on fuel. It isn't like this is the only flying craft that you can get your hands on.

to me this seems more like a "hover" craft of sorts than it does a jetpack.

That said screw the remote control flying, strap a real person in and lets see that
 
evilsofa said:
How do they address the fuel problem? By which I mean, when the idiot user runs out of gas at 8,000 feet, what happens?
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It has a parachute, that was one of the requirements during the trials.
 
Wrecked Em said:
This is not a jet pack. This is a helicopter with an uncomfortable seat.
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While it is certainly not the "jetpack" concept we have all dreamed about from Sci-Fi/fiction, I think calling it a helicopter is a stretch..It seems like it would be fun to own if you had a lot of money and your own land so you wouldn't have to tow it around every time you wanted to use it..
 
Wrecked Em said:
This is not a jet pack. This is a helicopter with an uncomfortable seat.
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Well, it's not a helicopter either.

It is a ducted fan pack.

I love all the "meh, not impressive" comments. What? You think your ability to mount a water-block qualifies you as an aerospace engineer? Do better.
 
As someone who has a deal of flight experience I can tell you flying shit will NEVER be allowed to the masses.

It takes far to much attention to detail that the average person will not do and will cause way to many problems.

Until computers take over and pilot shit.. it's not happening.
 
Regarding the noise... I wonder if they could hook up with rotosub and see what the two systems can do together.
 
ianken said:
Well, it's not a helicopter either.

It is a ducted fan pack.

I love all the "meh, not impressive" comments. What? You think your ability to mount a water-block qualifies you as an aerospace engineer? Do better.
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That type of response is never really a good one. I can't build a car from scratch, but if you try to sell me a car that gets 10mpg and only goes 30mph for $100,000 I wouldn't be impressed by that either.

Yes everything has to start somewhere, but overall from what I watched in that video it really isn't all that impressive just yet. So you can float what appears to be about 20 or so feet off the ground. Will this replace cars to get places? Will this replace any other method of transporation? No, it won't. While neat, THIS version will not be anything other than something you buy if you life out in the middle of nowhere and want to screw around. I would not consider that safe to fly above people so no city use.

I know they have a name but can't recall it right now, but to me this is like those motorized hang glidders that is like a little cart with a hang glider on top that some people have. Around me in NW Indiana, I have noticed maybe 2 people that ever had those and fly them around out in the country. Those got much higher than this, and let you go between places, assuming you had road space to land and take off in both places.

This "jetpack" in this form is just a toy for people with money to waste to play around in a small area. Not the type of thing that you are going to go flying from your house to work 45 miles away in.
 
Pathetic. THIS is a jetpack.

Rocketeer%20Rocket%20Pack%2005%206-7-6.jpg
 
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said:
Does it make me cynical and jaded that I kept waiting for it to crash or blow up?
Click to expand...

They have another video of it flying with a dummy at 5000 feet to test it's parachute, which popped out of a pod on the top front and landed safely.
 
Old news, they have already done an altitude test and a parachute deployment "controlled crash" test. Got up to rediculous altitude, no problems, of course it was with a crash test dummy though.

Its now more of a tiny helicopter than jet pack though, as the motion of your body is now irrelevant as you're more or less locked onto a platform.
 
Weenis said:
As someone who has a deal of flight experience I can tell you flying shit will NEVER be allowed to the masses.

It takes far to much attention to detail that the average person will not do and will cause way to many problems.

Until computers take over and pilot shit.. it's not happening.
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Its allowed to the masses right now. Anyone can run out buy an ultralight and go fly with 0 experience or licensing or and legal restrictions whatsoever.
 
Exavior said:
That type of response is never really a good one. I can't build a car from scratch, but if you try to sell me a car that gets 10mpg and only goes 30mph for $100,000 I wouldn't be impressed by that either.
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This.. .the whole "lets see what you can do" type of responses are so fucking stupid they're retarded. Everyone in the NFL can play their position better than I can, many times over, that doesn't mean I can't tell when someone is pretty lame at that position.
 
Sounds like one of the, hurricane alarms when it started up.

Owners of that I think will go deaf quick, even with hearing protection on.
 
ianken said:
Well, it's not a helicopter either.

It is a ducted fan pack.

I love all the "meh, not impressive" comments. What? You think your ability to mount a water-block qualifies you as an aerospace engineer? Do better.
Click to expand...

True. It's a step in a direction. Everything needs an initial step, this may lead to something big (flying cars?) as they work to improve the technology in this. Never know.
 
Weenis said:
As someone who has a deal of flight experience I can tell you flying shit will NEVER be allowed to the masses.

It takes far to much attention to detail that the average person will not do and will cause way to many problems.

Until computers take over and pilot shit.. it's not happening.
Click to expand...

The same thing was said about motor vehicles 100+ years ago. And, as already pointed out, anyone is allowed to fly an experimental aircraft without a license. Which I like because it perpetuates innovation and the progress of flight technology.
 
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