https://www.yahoo.com/news/world-first-flying-motorcycle-could-150000413.html
"One of the smallest jet aircraft ever designed could be several years away from becoming the first sky-legal motorcycle. When it's certified by the FAA, the Jetpack Aviation Speeder will be a flying street bike that uses eight tiny-but-powerful jet engines to cruise 60 mph for about 30 minutes."
[...] A barebones Speeder P2 prototype is being tested at the company's California facilities. It'll be on a tether until it gains FAA certification. The prototype has achieved autonomous takeoffs and landings. It has also hovered and transitioned to forward flight. The company is also showing off a full-scale, slick-looking black model at events. "It's designed for a pilot with a seating position similar to a motorcycle, with either feet down or back on foot pegs like a racing bike," says Mayman.
An unmanned version is also being developed for the military market as a cargo aircraft. It can fly 100 feet above the ground at 400 mph, making it nearly impossible to shoot down. "We envision sending 10 of these from different directions, like a swarm of drones, all loaded with cargo for life-saving missions," says Mayman.
Looks like fun, and incredibly dangerous.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Thursday January 05, @03:15PM (3 children)
Looks like it should be VTOL, which increases utility about 1000%, but also looks like it has little if any wing or lifting body effect - I wonder how much more efficient it would be with even stubby wings.
That picture in the sand makes me want to cover my eyes just looking at it (flying sand, not fun for the mucus membranes.)
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 4, Insightful) by sfm on Thursday January 05, @07:14PM (2 children)
"flying sand, not fun for the mucus membranes"
Or turbine engines !
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 05, @10:45PM (1 child)
Do not look into the turbine with your one good eye.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 06, @12:08AM
Don't listen to the turbine with your good ear
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Sourcery42 on Thursday January 05, @05:24PM (17 children)
My first thought looking at that thing is it looks like it could be a really fun way to die
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday January 05, @05:34PM (15 children)
Are you any better protected in a light plane?
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 4, Touché) by turgid on Thursday January 05, @05:50PM (5 children)
It's harder to fall off a light plane.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Thursday January 05, @07:17PM (4 children)
Unlike a terrestrial motorcycle, you might want a seat belt on this one.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 2) by turgid on Friday January 06, @07:52AM (3 children)
Indeed, and on a terrestrial motorbike, there's more to hit. At least with a flying one, the air tends to be mostly empty since most things fall under gravity. Does this thing come with a parachute?
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 06, @08:36AM (2 children)
Parachutes might be useless for much of the flight (they often don't work if too low), especially during the trickier takeoff and landing bits.
You might be better off with some suit/safety device that quickly inflates a big inflatable cage around you. For bonus points have some membranes/fabric between the cage struts to add suitable drag.
If you want to be safer maybe have both a parachute system and inflatable cage. Former for higher altitudes, latter for lower flying and also for some protection if you parachute into obstacles.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday January 06, @11:17AM (1 child)
Or, you know, just don't crash.
People free climb mountains. I would ride one of these before doing that. As mentioned elsewhere, with great care, a PFD and 99+% over deep water at lower altitudes while learning, but in a younger body this looks like a lot of fun, and with short term terminal cancer I might try it at any age...
Of course, the Hollywood thing to do with one of these is have an epic chase through the tall buildings of a major metropolitan area, and that's wholly unacceptable to the bystanders.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 2) by turgid on Sunday January 08, @10:27PM
And I can't watch.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Freeman on Thursday January 05, @08:15PM (8 children)
There's a reason why, when reading most sci-fi stuff. You read about how they have magic safety systems that make things like riding a flying motorcycle non-suicidal. Then again, there are some that show just how suicidal flying a vehicle like that truly would be.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Thursday January 05, @08:34PM (7 children)
Any mechanical conveyance that moves the body faster than approximately 5 miles per hour can (and still do) lead to serious traumatic injuries, analogous to falling off a horse at speed, as argued, correctly, by physicians of the 1800s in regards to the safety of train travel.
At least these turbines are somewhat contained, I've seen some Green Goblin hoverboard analogues that have big open blades you can fall into...
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Thursday January 05, @08:51PM (5 children)
True, you can even die by slipping and falling while walking. Yet I've survived a few motorcycle wipeouts without significant injury. With this thing, your first wipeout is very likely to be your last, especially if there's a glitch in the stability software.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Thursday January 05, @09:00PM (4 children)
>With this thing, your first wipeout is very likely to be your last, especially if there's a glitch in the stability software.
If I were 30 years younger and itching to be a test pilot, I'd want to wear a ski vest for floatation and practice over water.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 5, Funny) by jelizondo on Thursday January 05, @09:41PM (3 children)
If I were 30 years younger I would not go near that shit, that's how I got to be an old fart!
:-)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday January 05, @10:27PM (2 children)
I still hope I die before I get old, but that's not tied to any specific chronological age...
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday January 09, @02:38PM (1 child)
Old is a relative term and is a generally ever increasing number. Like a 110 yr old grandma calling a 70 year old a "kid". Relatively speaking, sure. The 110 year old grandma was "old" when the 70 yr old was a young whipper snapper.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday January 09, @02:59PM
I'm slowly getting used to the dulling of the senses, creaking of the joints, aches in the muscles - a lot of that stuff is relative and I'm not trying to compare myself to Olympic athletes or 22 year old Physics majors...
But, if it ever stops being fun altogether, I'm on record: I consider chronic life support with no chance of recovery to be a particularly inhumane form of torture.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday January 09, @02:34PM
Recently a colleague crashed a Golf Cart at not terribly high speed. They blacked out, because they hit their head and didn't actually remember the incident. Just waking up and hurting. So, yeah, low speeds can definitely be troublesome.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Tork on Thursday January 05, @06:28PM
Slashdolt Logic: "25 year old jokes about sharks and lasers are +5, Funny." 💩
(Score: 1) by Runaway1956 on Thursday January 05, @06:49PM (4 children)
Hardly worth the bother. If you're that suicidal, you can triple that speed for a couple hours at a time, on the ground. Or, you can spend a bigger bundle on a cycle that will quadruple that 60 MPH. Here in my own personal world, I can run at a mere 100 MPH for 2 1/2 hours at a time. Wish I had a bigger gas tank though. When you really want to cover some ground, 5, 6, 7 or more hours running time would be nice.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by mhajicek on Thursday January 05, @08:54PM (1 child)
You could add gas tanks where the panniers go, with a tube, a fuel pump, and a float switch.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday January 05, @09:01PM
My thoughts have run more in the direction of replacing the luggage rack behind the seat. Something between 5 and 12 gallons would go nicely there, with the weight centered on the bike, and flowing downhill to the main gas tank. That way, no fuel pump would be needed, just an on/off valve.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by dltaylor on Friday January 06, @12:27AM
I do fair amount of cross-country travel (SoCal to Sturgis, for example) on my Ducati ST, which has a 5 Gallon tank. When it is loaded with me (a bit over 300 lbs with "armor"), panniers with rain gear, 2 liters of emergency fuel, tools and spares, and whatever other stuff I think to bring at the last minute, I get something over 160 miles per tank. This is a bit under 2 hours worth for each stage, and I get off, and stay off, for at least 20 minutes, even when I'm feeling "ready to go". This 2 hours on/20 minutes off routine is something I can do "forever". Longest single day so far was Clarkston, WA to the Anaheim suburb of DisneyLand, and rode the ST to work next day. getting my behind off like that, rather than the 300 - 400 mile "stage"in my cages helps me stay alert.
I agree that 30 miles is pointless for any serious travel, and the airspace around SoCal is very busy, so I wouldn't want ride it here, either.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Friday January 06, @07:54AM
Suicidal? I reckon it's safer than a conventional motorbike what with there being less to hit up there, and certainly no lunatics driving cars badly or patches of oil on the road etc.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Thursday January 05, @08:44PM
for the military market as a cargo aircraft. It can fly 100 feet above the ground at 400 mph, making it nearly impossible to shoot down. "We envision sending 10 of these from different directions, like a swarm of drones, all loaded with
cargo for life-savingmunitions to blow the unsuspecting enemy to smitherines missions," says Mayman when he's not spin-doctoring the potential uses of his product.And, when you blow up the enemy, you're saving the good guys, right? (Right up until all that blowing up makes YOU the bad guys...)
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 06, @08:42AM
This seems similar but more ready for actual use:
https://newatlas.com/aircraft/zapata-jetracer/ [newatlas.com]
https://youtu.be/646bU7mQoqk [youtu.be]