Another Pass at the Personal Jetpack 259
Engadget is reporting that dreams of a personal jet pack may not be quite as distant as you might think. Skywalker Jets, created by Rick Herron boasts a 90-pound jet pack capable of propelling a 200-pound pilot through the air for about five minutes without the hassle of charred lower extremities. The production model, which he hopes to run past the FAA soon for approval, will only cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of $200,000 — so start saving your pennies.
Re:Interesting (Score:2, Interesting)
Of course, they've been promising that baby for five years now...
$100,000 Preorder... checks in the mail! (Score:2, Interesting)
Is anyone else a little skeptical. Who in thier right mind would preorder something that hasn't even been properly demonstrated. Now if this guy managed to take off to about 30ft, hover a bit, then travel for a minute or two while performing some impressive demonstration of the manuverability I might consider this a worthwhile project. Otherwise it is nothing but a pipe dream... anyone can locate a motor of reasonable size and weight then mount it to a backpack... making it fly is the hard part!
Re:FAA? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Skywalker is a great name for a jetpack (Score:3, Interesting)
Nerds indeed.
Re:Someone already has one (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Someone already has one (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Insurance? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:FAA? (Score:3, Interesting)
17 minutes *at full speed*.... (Score:4, Interesting)
PS: Jeremey Clarkson said the fuel only lasts 11 minutes at full speed, I don't know who's right, but at least he's driven one.
PPS: In Germany/France there's no speed limit on many roads. You could drive it faster in Europe than on a "speedway" (whatever that is) and the police will most likely just wave you on.
In Italy there's limits but if you're in a Bugatti they'll probably let it pass.... save the tickets for the people who drive Mercedes/BMWs.
Re:Back when I was still flying (Score:3, Interesting)
Ideally you perform this check a few minutes out or more, before things get real busy, so that any consequences of the tank change can be dealt with (eg. didn't get the selector in the detent, water in the other tank, etc...)
Autorotation (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:I can just see it now (Score:2, Interesting)