now I just need a nuclear-powered levitating house
November 15, 2015 6:38 PM Subscribe
(On the other hand, someone else will get a taco delivered to them by a drone while they are flying and it will be sublime.)
posted by Going To Maine at 6:45 PM on November 15, 2015 [26 favorites]
posted by Going To Maine at 6:45 PM on November 15, 2015 [26 favorites]
Buncha Ellis fans can STFU now.
posted by Artw at 6:51 PM on November 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 6:51 PM on November 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
As discussed in the comments...the symmetrical design is horrifying. When one engine goes out, you are in a spiraling tornado to the ground. But as a technology, cool, if you want to fly for 10 minutes...then refuel...all Jetsons love to you.
posted by Benway at 6:52 PM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Benway at 6:52 PM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
You stash the spare fuel in the trunk of the flying car.
posted by Artw at 6:54 PM on November 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 6:54 PM on November 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
I'm more worried about leg burn. The exhaust gas temperature of those types of turbines is usually hot enough to melt aluminum! [pdf]
posted by Popular Ethics at 7:06 PM on November 15, 2015
posted by Popular Ethics at 7:06 PM on November 15, 2015
When one engine goes out, you are in a spiraling tornado to the ground.
Non-issue. Just cut the other engine and plummet normally.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:10 PM on November 15, 2015 [41 favorites]
Non-issue. Just cut the other engine and plummet normally.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:10 PM on November 15, 2015 [41 favorites]
I'd love to hear the 911 calls placed by people on boats in the harbor.
posted by aaronetc at 7:12 PM on November 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by aaronetc at 7:12 PM on November 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
This bit is scary:
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:16 PM on November 15, 2015 [7 favorites]
In terms of performance, the JB-9 will fly for at least 10 minutes before running out of fuel, with its specific endurance dependent on how much the pilot weighs. Top speed of the JB-9 is about 100 kilometers per hour, with a climb rate of between 150 and 300 meters per minute. Both the speed and climb rates will increase as fuel is burned off. Jetpack Aviation speculates that you'd have no trouble hitting 10,000 feet.You could "hit" 10,000 feet (just over 3,000 meters or three kilometers) by flying directly up for ten minutes, at which point you would run out of fuel. Yes, you would hit 10,000 feet, but from the wrong direction.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:16 PM on November 15, 2015 [7 favorites]
This fills me with a childlike delight. I know it's still probably not practical and has issues but they do nothing to ameliorate my childlike delight one bit.
posted by gloriouslyincandescent at 7:35 PM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by gloriouslyincandescent at 7:35 PM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yes, you would hit 10,000 feet, but from the wrong direction.
Srs question: Why not add a parachute?
posted by brennen at 7:37 PM on November 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
Srs question: Why not add a parachute?
posted by brennen at 7:37 PM on November 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
You climb to 10,000 feet and take a parachute down, right?
posted by rikschell at 7:37 PM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by rikschell at 7:37 PM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
So... Where do I put in my credit card number? Because that was awesome as all get out. The helmet camera footage reminded me of flying the helicopter a few feet off the water in GTA IV.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 7:42 PM on November 15, 2015
posted by a lungful of dragon at 7:42 PM on November 15, 2015
Artw: "Buncha Ellis fans can STFU now."
Fuck you. I want a flying car.
(And Clatter.)
All due love and respect, Art. I keed. I keed. And, yes, I am an Ellis fanboy.
posted by Samizdata at 8:30 PM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Fuck you. I want a flying car.
(And Clatter.)
All due love and respect, Art. I keed. I keed. And, yes, I am an Ellis fanboy.
posted by Samizdata at 8:30 PM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
As one who has spectaculary crashed a quadcopter due to orientation error, I'll let the rest of you do the jetpacking.
posted by zippy at 8:43 PM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by zippy at 8:43 PM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Add an emergency parachute and increase flight time to 1 hour, and I'm in!
posted by blue_beetle at 8:47 PM on November 15, 2015
posted by blue_beetle at 8:47 PM on November 15, 2015
It appears to have some kind of rollcage at the top and back? That's an accessory science fiction seems not to have foreseen.
posted by Artw at 8:56 PM on November 15, 2015
posted by Artw at 8:56 PM on November 15, 2015
Once again Mitchell and Webb predicted the future of this jet pack era.
posted by humanfont at 8:56 PM on November 15, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by humanfont at 8:56 PM on November 15, 2015 [11 favorites]
That mitchell and webb skit strikes me as basically a literal re-enactment of early automobile enthusiasm.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:52 AM on November 16, 2015
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:52 AM on November 16, 2015
That's exactly what I was wondering - how do his legs not get burnt up like matchsticks?
posted by mary8nne at 5:06 AM on November 16, 2015
posted by mary8nne at 5:06 AM on November 16, 2015
A few years ago I read this book about a few guys a few minutes drive from where I'm sitting who decided to build their own rocketbelt. They succeeded, but also ended up in jail, kidnapped, or murdered. A typical Texas mess.
posted by beowulf573 at 5:55 AM on November 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by beowulf573 at 5:55 AM on November 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
Jetpack Aviation speculates that you'd have no trouble hitting 10,000 feet.
Minus the, you know, certification and pilot training, safety devices of any kind, lights, transponders... Especially in and around some of the busiest and most complicated airspace in the world. Do you remember how a teeny tiny little bird took an airliner down into the Hudson? Imagine what happens when some schmuck with one of these decides to see if he can race a 777 on departure from JFK.
The closest current analog we have to someone flying something like this is skydiving operations. However, skydiving happens at fixed locations that are clearly marked on aviation charts to provide pilots the information necessary to be cautious. Air traffic control announces when skydiving is happening if those locations fall within their areas of control. Jetpack enthusiasts currently would need to operate in the same way in order to ensure safety.
Flying around New York City is tons of fun but also can be very dangerous. Small aircraft are transiting the area over the rivers at very low altitudes - airplanes flying up the Hudson are only at about 1,000 feet, and helicopters are going to be even lower. And as has been shown previously, it's really hard to see small aircraft and it would be even harder to visually identify someone flying around on a jetpack.
posted by backseatpilot at 6:10 AM on November 16, 2015
Minus the, you know, certification and pilot training, safety devices of any kind, lights, transponders... Especially in and around some of the busiest and most complicated airspace in the world. Do you remember how a teeny tiny little bird took an airliner down into the Hudson? Imagine what happens when some schmuck with one of these decides to see if he can race a 777 on departure from JFK.
The closest current analog we have to someone flying something like this is skydiving operations. However, skydiving happens at fixed locations that are clearly marked on aviation charts to provide pilots the information necessary to be cautious. Air traffic control announces when skydiving is happening if those locations fall within their areas of control. Jetpack enthusiasts currently would need to operate in the same way in order to ensure safety.
Flying around New York City is tons of fun but also can be very dangerous. Small aircraft are transiting the area over the rivers at very low altitudes - airplanes flying up the Hudson are only at about 1,000 feet, and helicopters are going to be even lower. And as has been shown previously, it's really hard to see small aircraft and it would be even harder to visually identify someone flying around on a jetpack.
posted by backseatpilot at 6:10 AM on November 16, 2015
So let’s do a quick back-of-the-envelope guesstimation. Getting all the pieces to work together like they should certainly took a lot of time, testing, and experience on Jetpack Aviation’s part, and we're not trying to minimize that in the least. But, the most expensive parts seem like they have to be the engines.
They are completely missing the point that, by far, the biggest cost for any new aviation product is the integration. Parts are literally orders of magnitude cheaper.
Also, over the whole lifecycle of an air vehicle, the biggest cost (again, orders of magnitude over integration) is sustainment. Jet engines are not cheap to maintain. And, you know, these R/C engines aren't certified in any meaningful way and probably can't be without significant effort and cost.
posted by backseatpilot at 6:19 AM on November 16, 2015
They are completely missing the point that, by far, the biggest cost for any new aviation product is the integration. Parts are literally orders of magnitude cheaper.
Also, over the whole lifecycle of an air vehicle, the biggest cost (again, orders of magnitude over integration) is sustainment. Jet engines are not cheap to maintain. And, you know, these R/C engines aren't certified in any meaningful way and probably can't be without significant effort and cost.
posted by backseatpilot at 6:19 AM on November 16, 2015
Pedestrian lanes
Bicycle lanes
Commuter lanes
PLE lanes (Personal Lifting Equipment)
Fine. Now where's my hoverboard?
posted by mule98J at 7:40 AM on November 16, 2015
Bicycle lanes
Commuter lanes
PLE lanes (Personal Lifting Equipment)
Fine. Now where's my hoverboard?
posted by mule98J at 7:40 AM on November 16, 2015
It looks like a really smooth nice flight. I'm impressed. He landed like a champ.
posted by ian1977 at 8:06 AM on November 16, 2015
posted by ian1977 at 8:06 AM on November 16, 2015
And whatever happened to the autocar? No really, I'd seen the address of their headquarters and drove by when it was on the way, oh, sec, here's the google map. Well not exactly, but quite literally in a garage!
It's actually quiteexciting charming cute(?) that folks are still building super science devices basically in their garage, even when physics, law, social norms, rationality are all conspiring against success.
A quick 8 minute dash well above and over traffic really could be handy at times! Park out of the way break out the pack, make that appointment in style!
posted by sammyo at 8:24 AM on November 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's actually quite
A quick 8 minute dash well above and over traffic really could be handy at times! Park out of the way break out the pack, make that appointment in style!
posted by sammyo at 8:24 AM on November 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
Hmm. I'm not seeing the practicality of this until they put in a tiny nuclear reactor instead of fuel.
Actually, wait a minute. Ten minutes of flight could give us about 12-15 miles of range. That would be enough to cross the Mexican border- what's the weight capacity?
posted by happyroach at 8:59 AM on November 16, 2015
Actually, wait a minute. Ten minutes of flight could give us about 12-15 miles of range. That would be enough to cross the Mexican border- what's the weight capacity?
posted by happyroach at 8:59 AM on November 16, 2015
Ten minutes might be long enough to make this interesting to the military. And the CIA probably already has some batshit plans for it.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 9:20 AM on November 16, 2015
posted by paper chromatographologist at 9:20 AM on November 16, 2015
If you look closely enough you can probably see wires
posted by rebent at 9:56 AM on November 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by rebent at 9:56 AM on November 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
I don't see these ever being sold to private individuals, and it would only take a whiff of fear mongering to convince the public to go along with a ban.
posted by Beholder at 10:31 AM on November 16, 2015
posted by Beholder at 10:31 AM on November 16, 2015
Okay, this is really cool, but you know, it's still not as cool as the Dubai Jetman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czy0pXRRZcs
Hooray for the future!
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 11:01 AM on November 16, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czy0pXRRZcs
Hooray for the future!
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 11:01 AM on November 16, 2015
(and really, if you take a second, those jetman dubai jetpacks? we're gonna see those in 10 years. a thousand flying Army Airborne screaming over the horizon, each with a machine gun and a bad attitude.)
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 11:11 AM on November 16, 2015
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 11:11 AM on November 16, 2015
Legit question: four quadrocopters + some kind of robust fabric = magic carpet? How powerful do we need these devices and materials to be to make this happen?
posted by Going To Maine at 11:16 AM on November 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Going To Maine at 11:16 AM on November 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
You just need a 100lb propane tank on wheels and 1000ft of hose. Easy peasy.
posted by ian1977 at 1:11 PM on November 16, 2015
posted by ian1977 at 1:11 PM on November 16, 2015
Needs an art-deco-inspired helmet with a big fin on the back to help with steering.
posted by ckape at 3:21 PM on November 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by ckape at 3:21 PM on November 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
> Legit question:
Ever hang up a hammock? The force required to keep a carpet taut enough to ride on would be enormous. You'd be better off nailing your quadcopters to a sheet of plywood.
That said, electric multicopters strong enough for manned flight are already a thing. There's at least one company making an all electric prototype multicopter based on hobbyist parts and batteries. It has something like 20+ fairly large rotors, in 1-2 foot range.
The design has a lot of benefits. More rotors means it's less likely that you'll simply plummet to the ground if you lose a couple of rotors.
posted by loquacious at 6:29 PM on November 16, 2015
Ever hang up a hammock? The force required to keep a carpet taut enough to ride on would be enormous. You'd be better off nailing your quadcopters to a sheet of plywood.
That said, electric multicopters strong enough for manned flight are already a thing. There's at least one company making an all electric prototype multicopter based on hobbyist parts and batteries. It has something like 20+ fairly large rotors, in 1-2 foot range.
The design has a lot of benefits. More rotors means it's less likely that you'll simply plummet to the ground if you lose a couple of rotors.
posted by loquacious at 6:29 PM on November 16, 2015
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posted by Going To Maine at 6:44 PM on November 15, 2015 [2 favorites]