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Jet Man


Buffy

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This video has been floating around the internet recently, showing a fellow who has built a "winged jet pack" for sky diving. Its pretty amazing, and obviously seems to work, although I'd wonder if it was a good candidate for the Darwin Awards.

 

The web site is in French and I haven't bothered to translate it, but the design brings up some interesting aeronautical design issues. Any one out there with any expertise want to comment as to why this gizmo shouldn't under most circumstances simply be an instant disaster?

 

Because its there, :beer:

Buffy

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Of course you can get a brick to fly, but avoiding mountains (and that guy was out of his mind if that was the first test flight on that basis alone), and landing without crushing or maiming the mouse strapped to that brick is another matter all together....

 

Does remind me of those ancient Rocket Men serials...and everyone wants to "fly like Superman"...

 

The folding wings alone are an interesting engineering problem...

 

Zoom,

Buffy

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  • 1 month later...

well, for starters his wings were originally designed to let him glide ( the joys of reading french) and were first made to be inflateable, like a rubber tire. he's practiced with skyboarding and whatnot aswell, so this definatly wasn't his 'first' flight.

These new wings are carbon fiber ones, based off of those used in RC model aeroplanes. He says the power plants are built by Jet-Cat, an german model aeroplane PP manufactureer. Certainly this design is well worth looking at: and mark 2 is supposed to be capable of vertical flight and acrobatics (not possible here, only swoops and such).

Main problems with the design ( same as any really) are the takeoff. atleast he's done the smart thing and jumped out of a tree to learn to fly, and not tried to soar for the first time from the ground alone...

 

Currently has a 5 min flight time next model is aiming for 10 mins.

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