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Ok, this is a bit tongue-in-cheek here, but only a little.
If they get the bugs worked out and a price even yours truly could manage; getting a flying wing instead of a trike when my two-wheeled riding days are over with sounds like a blast [off].
Skyflash: Jetman-like wings designed to allow ground take off
By David Szondy
February 22, 2013
16 Comments
73 Pictures
The Skyflash one-man, jet-propelled wing undergoes testing
Image Gallery (73 images)
While most of us sit around grumbling and demanding to know, “where’s my jetpack?", German Fritz Unger and a group of friends have decided to do something about it. On a shoestring budget they are building their own one-man, jet-propelled wing. Dubbed “Skyflash,” it’s meant to not only emulate the jet wing made famous by Jetman Yves Rossy, but to go one better by taking off from the ground instead of having to be dropped from an aircraft.
Ever since he became a pilot at the age of fourteen, Fritz Unger dreamed of flying without the encumbrance of a plane. Inspired by the exploits of Rossy and world-record skydiver Felix Baumgartner, Unger banded together with some friends and began work on Skyflash with the support of web advertising and donations.
With a name right out of Thunderbirds, Skyflash is, if nothing else, ambitious. The wing, which is worn like a backpack, is designed to take off from the ground and, if successful, will be the smallest twin engined plane ever built. It’s based on the wings of the condor – a soaring bird with the ability to alter its wing structure to take advantage of variable mountain wind conditions.
Aircraft designers already use morphing wings on modern jetliners to help on takeoffs and landings and Skyflash’s wings change for the same reason, though on a much smaller scale. Its wings, that measure 11.15 foot (3.5 m) tip to tip, are made up of three units that separate to provide greater surface area and more lift on take off and then reunite during flight for speed and stability.
The wing is powered by two microturbine diesel jet-engines fitted into the central “wingbody," which is the part that straps to the pilot. It contains the computer and electronics and the computer links to an 8-inch graphic interface strapped to the pilot’s arm. The fuel tanks are in the wings and connect to the fuel system automatically when installed on the wingbody before flight.
Skyflash weighs 55.12 lbs (25 kg) and boasts a maximum takeoff weight of 354.94 lbs (161 kg) and has an undercarriage with 10-inch (25.4 cm) off road tires to take the load and allow Skyflash to take off from grass runways.
http://www.gizmag.com/skyflash-jet-propelled-wing/26355/
If they get the bugs worked out and a price even yours truly could manage; getting a flying wing instead of a trike when my two-wheeled riding days are over with sounds like a blast [off].
Skyflash: Jetman-like wings designed to allow ground take off
By David Szondy
February 22, 2013
16 Comments
73 Pictures
The Skyflash one-man, jet-propelled wing undergoes testingImage Gallery (73 images)
While most of us sit around grumbling and demanding to know, “where’s my jetpack?", German Fritz Unger and a group of friends have decided to do something about it. On a shoestring budget they are building their own one-man, jet-propelled wing. Dubbed “Skyflash,” it’s meant to not only emulate the jet wing made famous by Jetman Yves Rossy, but to go one better by taking off from the ground instead of having to be dropped from an aircraft.
Ever since he became a pilot at the age of fourteen, Fritz Unger dreamed of flying without the encumbrance of a plane. Inspired by the exploits of Rossy and world-record skydiver Felix Baumgartner, Unger banded together with some friends and began work on Skyflash with the support of web advertising and donations.
With a name right out of Thunderbirds, Skyflash is, if nothing else, ambitious. The wing, which is worn like a backpack, is designed to take off from the ground and, if successful, will be the smallest twin engined plane ever built. It’s based on the wings of the condor – a soaring bird with the ability to alter its wing structure to take advantage of variable mountain wind conditions.
Aircraft designers already use morphing wings on modern jetliners to help on takeoffs and landings and Skyflash’s wings change for the same reason, though on a much smaller scale. Its wings, that measure 11.15 foot (3.5 m) tip to tip, are made up of three units that separate to provide greater surface area and more lift on take off and then reunite during flight for speed and stability.
The wing is powered by two microturbine diesel jet-engines fitted into the central “wingbody," which is the part that straps to the pilot. It contains the computer and electronics and the computer links to an 8-inch graphic interface strapped to the pilot’s arm. The fuel tanks are in the wings and connect to the fuel system automatically when installed on the wingbody before flight.
Skyflash weighs 55.12 lbs (25 kg) and boasts a maximum takeoff weight of 354.94 lbs (161 kg) and has an undercarriage with 10-inch (25.4 cm) off road tires to take the load and allow Skyflash to take off from grass runways.
http://www.gizmag.com/skyflash-jet-propelled-wing/26355/
