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From ExtremeTech:
 Tired of waiting for others
to build his dream machine for him, German engineer Fritz Unger has
constructed and tested a prototype jet-powered wingsuit. Other pioneers,
like Yves "Jetman" Rossy, have long held media attention for their
liberating solo flights, but they have no immediate plans to attempt
take-off or landing from level ground. In fact the Jetman seems to be
taking his designs in the opposite direction - instead of longer, more
buoyant wings, friendlier for parachute-free landings, his latest craft
use stubbier wings for greater stability at higher airspeeds. If powered
wingsuits are ever going to get into the air for sustained flight, what
kinds of design might they have?
Unger's contraption, called Project Skyflash,
has wings 11 feet (3.4m) wide and weighs just under 300 pounds (136kg)
with pilot included. It uses two diesel-fueled microturbines made by
Jetcraft, which together deliver around 80lbs of thrust. Microturbines
may have a simple design with only a few moving parts, but to actually
get one running properly a fair amount of support equipment is needed.
To keep it running, and squeeze everything you can out of it, you also
want to monitor several system variables like RPM, exhaust gas
temperature, inlet airspeed, and fuel flow rate and use. Unger has told
us he has already made small hops and is planning to achieve a first
flight later this summer after some upgrades are made.
While the
initial video footage may not be all that impressive yet, I think we
need to give him some credit, and more importantly, some encouragement.
This guy, working with just wood and shrink wrap is not jumping out of
an already airborne plane, or base jumping from 1000 feet, but rather is
starting from the ground up, taking the approach I think we need at
this time - small, light, simple,and cheap.
Read the whole article and watch the video
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Re: Project Skyflash: Is It Possible to Build a DIY Jet Pack?
