Attack Wing: Glider Makes Waves With Stealth and Speed

FoxNews.com ^ | Thursday, April 24, 2008 | Allison Barrie

[Squidpup]

It weighs only 30 pounds and can be fully weaponized for assault and rescue. It has a 6-foot jet-wing that is steered with handheld rotary controls connected to its rudder. And it can hide more than 100 pounds of combat gear in a built-in compartment.

The Gryphon attack glider, designed to penetrate combat zones at 135 miles per hour, could revolutionize the art of parachuting. It has got to be at the top of James Bond’s Christmas list this year.

• Click here to see video of the Gryphon glider in action.

A vision straight out of "Batman," the carbon-fiber stealth glider quadruples the speed of similar craft — and there are quite a few special forces soldiers who would like to jump out of a plane at 30,000 feet and give it a whirl.

• Click here to see photos of the Gryphon glider.

Its helmet has a heads-up display and provides on-board oxygen for the jump. To land, a soldier separates the wing from his pack and releases his parachute to slow his descent. The wing remains attached to the soldier by a cord and lands before him.

[Squidpup]

Up in the air junior birdman

[stylin_geek]

bookmarked.

[reagan_fanatic]

Holy attack glider, Batman!

[ClearCase_guy]

I’m thinking of Operation Screaming Fist from William Gibson’s novel “Neuromancer”.

[Sender]

Way cool. Can you imagine a squad of special forces coming in at 135 mph silently in the dark? Then leave a “present” in the wing for whoever picks it up.

[maine-iac7]

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?videoId=65803ec1-3220-47e9-9769-3fef85a9dc82&sMPlaylistID=

[Yo-Yo]

Civilian version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgrDal1ysV4

[Groganeer]

I keep seeing stuff like this, and I keep thinking the same thing...

It’s all good until you have a bird strike.

[HIDEK6]

And those commercially available Gryphons could mean that friendly neighborhood Batmen might be just around the corner.

This is a Darwin thread waiting to happen.

[YHAOS]

Shades of Starship Troopers!

[garyhope]

I wonder if Sky King and Penny know about this?

[crabpott]

...and out of the clear blue of the western sky comes......what the heck is that Penny?

[A.A. Cunningham]

Allison Barrie should spend more time reading Free Republic:

The Gryphon parachute system -- only bad*sses need apply

[investigateworld]

"Quick Penny get in the Songbird!"

[Lancey Howard]

Wow! Get a load of this, (( ping ))!

Also, ping to post#14 for link to thread about the gryphon glider posted here at FR two years ago, and also to post#8 for YouTube.

Really cool stuff.

[xzins]

Wouldn’t want to get your tail too high.......

:>)

[jazusamo]

Thanks for the heads up, Lancey, that is pretty cool stuff.