
JetMan - hendler
http://www.jetman.com
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adrianwaj
Video: [http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/9raw-rocket-man-soars-
ov...](http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/9raw-rocket-man-soars-over-lake-
geneva/xhaad1y)

 _Swiss inventor and pilot Yves Rossy has successfully flown a new version of
his jet-powered rocket over Lake Geneva with a total flight time of 18 minutes
before landing._

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patrickaljord
His youtube <http://www.youtube.com/user/jetmanofficial#p/u/1/xWIoOzrGnOU>

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anigbrowl
Step 2: FIGHT CRIME

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aberkowitz
This is a prime example of dogfooding.

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JMiao
I was expecting a trendy javascript-instead-of-flash game. Thankfully, I was
wrong.

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Stevenup7002
Looks pretty cool, also looks pretty dangerous. Dunno if I'd give up public
transport for this.

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raquo
Let's hope sometime it would be possible to make such a wing VTOL-capable and
have some kind of airbag safety device for use at low altitudes. Before that
happens we're left with paragliding and ultralight trikes...

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markkat
Few achieve <noun>man. It's inspiring.

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jarsj
No take off, No demonstration of control and speed variations, No landing. Am
sure secret prototypes at NASA or elsewhere are much better.

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siculars
stop hating.

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eof
Slightly disappointed he landed with a parachute, but still a marvel of human
ingenuity.

How do those turbines compare to something like this?
<http://www.jetcatusa.com/p200.html>

Is it really just a matter of having 30k and the balls to pull something like
this off?

edit: It is those turbines exactly, it looks like.

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qq66
It's nothing to do with having the 30k, it's about having the engineering
chops to design this, the cold stones to put it on, and the lifetime of
experience needed to know how to handle the dynamics of a dangerous vehicle
that's never existed before.

Hell, if I had those 3 qualities (I don't even have one), I would drop the 30k
without a question.

Jetman also helps rationalize government funding for things like space, Moon,
and Mars exploration. I know that I will never have the constitution to strap
on a jetpack like Jetman. But I'm able to vicariously experience a
(vanishingly) small fraction of the thrill just by watching him do so, just
like I'm able to experience a small fraction of the joy of walking on the Moon
by watching the Apollo astronauts.

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retube
This is the ultimate boys toy. I wonder how much of a pilot you need to be to
fly this? Are there aileron, rudder and thrust controls?

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reitzensteinm
Even if the controls were simple, I think you'd probably want to have
experience flying just so you're practiced keeping your cool in similar but
less dangerous situations. This thing looks like it's about three seconds of
panic away from killing anyone.

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prodigal_erik
Apparently he has a throttle but no other controls, and steers using body
english. Sounds like skydiving would be slightly better training for this than
piloting.

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raquo
Yes, and he also said that the "controls" are very sensitive. Even slightly
moving his head changes his course.

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dualogy
So no looking around and enjoying the scenery... if he or anyone ever builds a
"two-seater" (not a seater to begin with of course) this would surely, well,
take off.

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lazyant
Error establishing a database connection

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eof
It's coming on and off. The video in the comments is what you want to see
anyway.

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presidentender
How does he land?

Edit: Parachute. Of course.

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jijoy
There is no limit to man's dream of flying .

