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Transportation Technology

Martin Jetpack Closer To Takeoff In First Responder Applications 55

Posted by samzenpus from the when-you-have-to-get-there-in-a-hurry dept.
Zothecula writes Last year's redesign of the long-awaited Martin Jetpack was accompanied by plans to begin commercial sales in 2014, starting with emergency response services and individual sales to follow thereafter. The release date for the first responder Jetpack has since been revised to 2016, a prediction bolstered by the fresh announcement of a partnership between Martin Aircraft Company and US company Avwatch to develop air-based, first responder solutions for the US Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense.
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Martin Jetpack Closer To Takeoff In First Responder Applications More

Martin Jetpack Closer To Takeoff In First Responder Applications

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  • Consumer Warning (Score:4, Funny)

    by Freshly Exhumed ( 105597 ) on Wednesday November 19, 2014 @03:18PM (#48420611) Homepage

    Do Not Use Indoors

  • Not a jet pack (Score:5, Informative)

    by erice ( 13380 ) on Wednesday November 19, 2014 @03:35PM (#48420761) Homepage

    Despite appearances, there is no "jet" or "rocket" engine. It is a pair of ducted fans driven by a four cylinder gasoline engine.

    It isn't a pack either. The weight of the machine is borne by a large frame that the pilot steps onto.

    It is really an odd sort of helicopter. It looks really cool and it is much more compact than a normal helicopter but it is not a jet-pack.

    • I am trying to figure how this could be used by the Fire Service, in a first responder role.

      1. It doesn't look like it has the weight limit to do bucket drops for wildland firefighting
      2. It doesn't look like it has the weight limit to haul very much equipment
      3. It doesn't look like it could do any rescue
      4. At best, it looks like someone could scout the perimeter of a fire. For $200k, that is an awful expensive scout

      I see cops wanting this, but not the fire service

      • Fire departments do a lot of EMT work. This would be a great tool for getting a medic to an injured person in rugged terrain. But aside from that, I'm not seeing it either. And your medic will need to be well-trained in flying this thing, or he'll need a medic. Training is expensive, combined with the cost of buying this thing the market for these seems pretty limited.

        In short, I don't see sales of this jet pack taking off.*ducks*

        • This would be a great tool for getting a medic to an injured person in rugged terrain.

          As long as the following conditions exist;
          1. There is sufficient open flat ground for the rather large machine to land.
          2. The machine has the weight capacity to to carry the operator and all life saving equipment.
          3. The "rugged terrain" is within 15 km of the station. While the machine has range of 30km it has to get back to the station. Sure one could truck the machine closer to the accident but then a helicopter would probably be faster.

          • While the machine has to get back to the station, it doesn't need to fly there, and even if it does, more fuel could be brought in or the thing can be thrown on the back of a truck and hauled out of the woods. Likewise, this isn't supposed to bring in an entire operating room, it just needs bandages, some medication, and a few other items. They aren't trying to fix a broken leg here, just stop the bleeding or stabilize you long enough for the people that can get you out of there to arrive.

            • Re: (Score:3)

              by gl4ss ( 559668 )

              the use cases would be extremely, extremely limited.

              guess that's why they had to sign up homeland security to pay the bill with foot in mouth.

              if there's so little time that you can't get to the place by walking, from where you launch this, it's unlikely you can bring this thing near enough.

              if there's so little space around that you can't drop from a copter, unlikely that you can land this thing(cliff edge in the middle of a steep cliff or something - and really that's a quite rare case).

              if there's so bad vi

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Anonymous Coward

          And your medic will need to be well-trained in flying this thing, or he'll need a medic.

          Especially when you bear in mind that "rugged terrain" can easily mean steep mountain slopes or forests, where safely landing will be a nightmare if not outright impossible, at which point isn't it easier and a lot more functional to just send a helicopter which can winch the EMTs down and the patient up?

          If you can fly one of these to a patient you can fly a helicopter there; a jetpacking EMT can only treat using the gear their jetpack can carry, the jetpack can't carry a patient *and* pilot at the same ti

        • Fire departments do a lot of EMT work. This would be a great tool for getting a medic to an injured person in rugged terrain.

          But the grandparent's point's two and three still apply - a medic sans equipment and supplies isn't much better than no medic at all, and you still need to get the patient evacuated. And all that assumes you know where the injured person is in the first place...

          This jetpack really does look like it's mostly a solution in search of a problem.

          • I thought it would be able to bypass traffic and get a first responder on the ground in a much shorter time even in an urban environment, when 3 or 4 minutes could be the difference between life or death. They may not be able to evacuate an injured person but they should be able to attempt to stabilize an injured person. {the article doesn't really mention lift capacity but I imagine it would have to be able to take some basic supplies}

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

            But the grandparent's point's two and three still apply - a medic sans equipment and supplies isn't much better than no medic at all, and you still need to get the patient evacuated. And all that assumes you know where the injured person is in the first place...

            Well, he can carry basic supplies.

            In a lot of cases, you just need a trained responder there ASAP while you dispatch a regular ambulance. Said ambulance can take easily 15-30 minutes to arrive even in an urban environment. The jetpack responder can b

      • I am sure somewhere there is a Federal Law Enforcement agency that already has plans to buy about two dozen of these things and establish a jet pack SWAT team.

        If its even halfway successful, expect every agency with a SWAT team to have one.

      • It's a jet pack, it will advance the tech used in first responders by making them have to rescue people from new and interesting places.

    • >> ducted fans driven by a four cylinder gasoline engine

      Yeah...the guy who blows the leaves off the parking lot has one of these too.

    • It is a pair of ducted fans driven by a four cylinder gasoline engine.

      I didn't see anything in the link that stated it was a 4 stroke engine. Do you have another link? This seems like a great application for a 2 stroke engine to me.

      • I just looked at the "technical specifications" [martinjetpack.com] on their website. Near the bottom it lists the fuel and oil as gasoline and 2 stroke oil. It doesn't state the engine is actually a 2 stroke. But it most likely is.

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by The Grim Reefer ( 1162755 )
          Sorry for replying to myself twice. But It was listed under the Engine [martinjetpack.com] section. It's a 200 HP 2 liter 2 stroke. and weighs 132 pounds. That would be one hell of a fun engine to have in a 1000 lb sports car. Or one for each wheel at that size. Except it needs to be overhauled every 100 hours of use. Probably less than that for ground use though.

          • You can get various fun cars powered by motorbike engines these days. Several based on the old Lotus 7 (e.g. Westfield, Tiger) are in your 200 bhp/1000 lbs ballpark. Tiger do or did 2-engine versions (2WD, with one driving each rear wheel or 4WD, one per axle). You can even get a 2.8 litre V8 which is 2 Hayabusa blocks on a common crankshaft; with a supercharger if you wish. Hartley builds the engine, used by Radical and Ariel.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Jesrad ( 716567 )

      I still wonder how hard it would be to just use a pair or triplet of AMT Titan microjet engines [amtjets.com] to make an actual jetpack ? That's the smaller-is-better approach "Jetman [jetman.com]" has followed, with success.

  • Oh lordy! (Score:3, Informative)

    by fustakrakich ( 1673220 ) on Wednesday November 19, 2014 @03:36PM (#48420769) Journal

    You'd better listen to the noise [youtube.com]. You definitely won't need a sireeen.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by cruff ( 171569 )
      Yes, the neighbors will love it when you take off in yours for work at 7 AM. It would be damn cool, though.

  • first responder call... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 19, 2014 @03:39PM (#48420795)

    911 DISPATCH: 911 What is your emergency?
    Person: There are 2 people here who need an ambulance!
    911 DISPATCH: OK We're sending over a First Responder!
    Person: OK
    WHOOSH...CRASH AHHHHHH!!
    Person: There are 3 people here who need an ambulance!

    • Think of it as job security. Sold to First responders - check. Sold to general public - check. General public uses it, crashes, and calls first responders - check!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by judoguy ( 534886 )
      No joke, unfortunately. A buddy of mine used to manage an air ambulance service for a large hospital. Mostly went alright, but every now and then the copter would go down. They flew at night sometimes, in mountainous terrain sometimes and in all kinds of weather. It was all too easy to hit a ridge or tower. Don't have to hit 'em hard either. A little unexpected nick of a tower or tree limb snag can be catastrophic.

  • "The Martin Jetpack is a disruptive technology, much like the helicopter was when first developed, with substantial capabilities which will be very complementary to our solutions we can offer our customers," says Avwatch

    Uhhh, I don’t think so. This is like an extremely small helicopter, there is little I can see it doing a helicopter couldn’t. What few things it might be able to do a copter couldn’t, remote control drones will soon be able to do.

    I don’t think the 60’s jetpack dream will ever be truly realized.

    • >I don’t think the 60’s jetpack dream will ever be truly realized.

      I'm surprised to find the concept dates back to the 20s, although I had never seen one until viewing media from the mid-60s.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_pack#Andreyev
    • Remote control drones could bring an EMT out into the middle of a forest where there isn't enough space to land a helicopter?

      • Strange, I thought I'd seen those basket lift contraptions used for years. Guess they quit making them.

        You say the emergency area is farther than 20 miles round trip? Too bad, a helicopter would never be able to go that far either I guess.

        • There are places where even lowering a basket can be dangerous or difficult. I'm not saying every park service needs one, but it could have its uses.

          • (been on vacation)
            Sorry to have been snarky.

            But if the contraption can't lift both responder and victim out (like the basket can), then I really think this has limited use. I suspect the weight of two people and the geometry of the contraption make impractical for evacuation -- which is the most common rescue work I imagine.

    • You would think that with the advent of drones/quad copters and the technology stabilizing and controlling them, that various manned vehicles such as this or even Moller's Skycar would be popping up all over the place.

  • Not a disruptive technology (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    with a limited range and load capability the small number of "rescue" missions it would be appropriate does not justify the cost. Except, they'll use taxpayer dollars.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by green1 ( 322787 )

      You think any service that does rescue missions gets money for this sort of toy? not a chance. This will be used by DHS, Police, maybe even the TSA. But you won't see paramedics flying in one of these things.

  • This looks like a much safer vehicle to fly through the arctic and into the hollow earth.
  • This is what I saw, now I am disappointed it's just "Martin" - sigh!!

  • Looking at one of the videos on the co's site, looks like it can be remote controlled and stabilised - seems like an ideal platform on to which to mount a police sniper and carry him/her to a target location to do the business. I guess it could lift as high a a helo so sound would not be too bad.

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