1205749
story
Comments: 175 +- Technology: Man Attempts To Cross English Channel With Jet Wing on Thursday September 25 2008, @04:50PM
Posted
by
samzenpus
on Thursday September 25 2008, @04:50PM
from the shorter-commute dept.
from the shorter-commute dept.
background: url(//a.fsdn.com/sd/articles/08/09/25/1433204-1-thumb.png); width:130px; height:97px;
transportation
Back in May, we told you about Swiss pilot Yves Rossy and his personal jet powered wing. It seems Mr. Rossy will now try to cross the English Channel with his invention. The flight was planned for Sept. 25 but had to be canceled due to poor weather. Yves will leap from a plane more than 2,500 meters off the ground, fire up his jets and try to make the 35-kilometer flight from Calais in France to Dover in England. If all goes well, the flight will take about 12 minutes. I'd like to officially ask Mr. Rossy for a review model for Slashdot.
Related Stories
Swiss Man Flies With Jet Powered Wing 247 comments
Jetman Attempts Intercontinental Flight 140 comments
You work very hard. Don't try to think as well.
All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the Poster. The Rest © 1997-2010 Geeknet, Inc.
Transformers (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
No no no. He is Buzz Lightyear. To Infinity And Beyond!
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Centurions.... (Score:5, Informative)
Wingnut! (Score:3, Funny)
Got his cap screwed a bit too tight.
Thats Right (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Thats Right (Score:5, Funny)
I bet he can breathe in space too.
Parent
Damn!! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Damn!! (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Present her with a stack of insurance policies that include statements from the insurance company that you will be covered while using one. Make sure she has a calculator handy. Problem solved.
Provided of course you can find such policies. Don't forget the pre-flight checks and stay away from final kisses before take-off.
Talk about a... (Score:2, Interesting)
I don't think he'll even be high enough above the ground for a parachute if everything doesn't work out!
Re:Talk about a... (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't think he'll even be high enough above the ground for a parachute if everything doesn't work out!
At 5100 feet, he'll be covered.... [fabulousrocketeers.com]
Parent
Re:Talk about a... (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Talk about a... (Score:5, Informative)
He doesn't actually have a static line setup, of course, but this is only to illustrate the low altitude limits that parachutes can be used at. BASE jumpers don't jump from very high, for example.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
His initial altitude when he leaves the plane will be 2,500m.
To be less ambiguous about my statement, his initial altitude when he leaves the plane and turns on his rocket pack will be 2,500m.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
He uses a parachute to land the thing every time he flies it. So yes, he'll have enough altitude for that.
Re:Talk about a... (Score:5, Funny)
What, he's not landing by running very, very fast?
Disappointed I am, sir; disappointed.
Parent
Halo (Score:2)
Buzz Lightyear (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Buzz Lightyear (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Buzz Lightyear (Score:4, Funny)
He'll probably make it if you've watched his videos.
Shit, I haven't seen any of his videos yet! We have to get on this guys, this man's life is in our hands!
Parent
Re:Buzz Lightyear (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Not only that, but he's launching at 2,500m. Typical GA airplanes have a glide ratio of around 10 to 1. Some much more, some much less, but 10 is a decent first guess if you don't know.
Launching from from 2,500m would give him a glide to 25km, without the engines. The engines only have to get him another 10km. Launching from 2,500m with 90kts of forward velocity is not the same as launching from a standstill on the ground.
What he's doing is more like "falling, with style."
Re: (Score:2)
Then you have never truly loved.
It's about time (Score:2, Funny)
Try that in the US (Score:5, Funny)
Not mentioned in TFA, he tried to do this at Kittyhawk where the Wright brothers made their historic flight. But there was some trouble getting clearance with the US authorities....
Flashbacks... (Score:2, Funny)
Why am I thinking of G.I. Joe from the 80's?
Now we just need red and blue laser guns that look like M-16's.
And maybe a ROFLCOPTOR.
Can you imagine.. (Score:2)
Landing gear? (Score:2, Funny)
Ouch.
Information about the jets (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Information about the jets (Score:4, Funny)
OMFG! I so need to strap a cat to one of those!
Parent
He'll never make it (Score:5, Funny)
With balls that big there will be too much drag.
Re:He'll never make it (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
The funniest part of course... (Score:5, Informative)
... is that news like that clearly demonstrate that 49% of Slashdot poters are living in a cave and 49% other are living under a bridge. What other explanation could there be for all those inane comments?
Once again: The guy has been flying this thing for quite sime time now! It flies already! And it flies well! No, his feet are not in the path of jet exhaust! Yes, he will make it more than a few feet from the ground, because he's actually taking off _from_ _a_ _plane_! And no, he'll not crash on landing, because he actually uses _a_ _parachute_ to land!
But... (Score:3, Funny)
... what happens if he doesn't make it?
I wonder if his will has a provision- "If the bloody thing blows up and murders me, the design for it becomes creative commons- hopefully those Linux nuts can figure out why it blew up!"
Little does he know we'd just fork it into a million different versions, all similar but incompatible (and all unable to run Halo2), then Microsoft would bring out JetPackXP Professional and everyone except us would use that instead...
lol (Score:5, Funny)
Gliders can do it easy.. (Score:4, Informative)
Since he only needs a L/D ratio of about 14 (35 km distance with a 2.5 km altitude start), any decent glider can do the same thing, with no thermal lifts, and no jet engines, just pure glide slope.
Re:Gliders can do it easy.. (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Been there, done that (Score:4, Informative)
New tag? (Score:4, Funny)
'WhatCouldPossiblyGoWright'
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I also want one, but only after I fully digest the heavy lunch I just ate.
Re:Could you explain that... (Score:5, Funny)
its like a car
Parent
Re:Could you explain that... (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
Re:His site? (Score:5, Funny)
It's here [darwinawards.com].
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Where's the link to his site?
You Tube video of him in action [youtube.com]
Rossy's website [jet-man.com]
I am your own personal Google.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
we'll just pass him there,
why should we even care?
Re:he's gonna kill his feet... (Score:5, Informative)
A friend of mine is fitting 3 of those jets to his ASW20 glider.
I stood 10ft behind one when it was running. It was suprisingly cool so close. The temperature at the tailplane of the glider is below 50 degrees C, so it wont effect the composite glass/carbon flying surfaces
Must be something to do with the air expanding out of a relatively small nozzle, causing rapid cooling.
Parent
Re:he's gonna kill his feet... (Score:4, Funny)
Oh no an AC is complaining about my post, whatever will I do.
Did it ever occour to you that what is obvious to you may not be obvious to everyone asshole?
Parent