Posted on 03/01/2009 1:40:59 PM PST by FreeManWhoCan
A German entrepreneur, Hermann Ramke, has invented a James Bond-like jetpack powered by high-pressure water, called the JetLev-Flyer.
Designer Ramke's invention can power the rider to a height of 50 feet (15m), has a top speed of 30mph, and can travel almost 200 miles before it needs to be refuelled.
A floating pump powered by a 150 horsepower four-stroke engine sends water through a 140ft-long (43m) hose to a pair of nozzles mounted on the jet pack. The jet leaving the nozzles is sufficiently powerful to push the rider off the ground.
The nozzles can then be angled to propel the pilot forward in "stable, controlled flight".
The website advertising the jetpack, which retails at around £160,000, claims the device offers "freedom, exhilaration, [and] adventure".
It continues: T"he dream of personal flight is as old as mankind. In the 21st century the daring vision of Daedalus has finally come true."
The gadget took nine years to develop, including six years of "intensive testing and refinements" before a product was engineering which they felt could deliver on their premise.
The JetLev, which also seems to have drawn inspiration from Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear, can accommodate pilots of over 6ft (up to 2m) in height from and 40kg (88lbs) 120kg (265lbs) in weight.
A digital fly-by-wire system is used to control the throttle.
For special applications, future designs could achieve higher altitudes and top speeds, extended range and even travel below the water´s surface.
The American manufacturers claim it is "amazingly easy to learn and operate".
All customers receive detailed instructions from a qualified personal trainer to learn the special procedures of takeoff, flying, turning, hovering and ..............
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Where do you stash the tank?
big yellow hose tethering you to earth. not quite there yet.
Twang, pop, what was that ??
I think you still need a hose going to the water source. The article claims that you can go 200 miles between refills. It didn’t say that you could go 200 miles away. This is an expensive toy.
Those green people are going to make us use them instead of cars.
From video it looks like it would make for a great Sea World show, but not very practical. Trailing hose sucks of water that propels the rider. Anyone that has seen a fire hose that got loose from firefighters, knows how this works. A giant Water Wiggle. ;)
This is insidious. Water vapor is the absolute worst green-house gas. How dare these people. /s
Sure. It's not meant for transportation, just recreation. But it does look like fun, if you have a big enough lake to fly around over.
I'll bet it's noisy as hell, though.
That thing’s cool! Quite a bit of engineering. Almost has to be built on a jet-ski platform. Most of the expensive stuff is taken care of there, such as noise, emissions, pump efficiency, etc.
What goes up . . .
It would be a nice way to powerwash an area, or water the lawn...
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