Home Made PWC "Human Dolphin" Flyboard Construction

Wise man once said ... "Dont' cheap-out on something that might kill you."

i'm not exactly cheaping out, i just would rather make it myself. i enjoy the customizing what i make and having pride in my projects. id take maaany safety measures

It's hard to make accurate estimates when everything you see moves around so much. Rough guesses only, it looks as though the hand jets are about 0.75" to 1", the foot jets about 1.5" to 2", and the main hose 3" to 4".

It seems you already have a jet ski; what size is its outlet nozzle?

From the video, lack of practice makes imperfect; practice makes pretty good! How long before it becomes an Olympic sport?

I saw a show on History..............maybe discovery channel on one of these, a few years ago, but it didn't have the maneuverability. Same principle, but it was just a simple water jet that enabled the user to hover over the surface. I think the guy was in Fla. I'll look around and see what I can find. Cool video!!

OMG! How long before somebody uses this wearing a dragon suit skimming across Loch Ness!! Too funny! Yes I've seen the stationary ones, but they only have two thrusters like a jet pack, but this is way cooler...This is the second gen pictured I believe...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzA9V9nLfeY

Check this out the new generation jet pack, 5000ft...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=fvwp&v=SHPedpE70Es

Second pic is the ducted fan death trap by Glenn Martin. The guy you see in it is a dummy...an actually dummy because they won't put a human in that thing and fly it at anything above 5ft...yet!. I posted a few comments on his Youtube video a few months ago. Let's just say none of my comments were very encouraging!

http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2009-07/water-powered-jetpack

Here's one that should be easy to build.

It's one thing to think of these ideas but to actually do them...??

You can't help but admire the Japanese folk.

Zapata might have been inspired by the ol' fire hose rodeo stunt....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMhD4l_HGcQ

Safety issues aside it looks like a real hoot!!!!

OP wanted plans...IMHO it aint rocket science. Just hope that the school doesn't burn down while the fire hoses are on "loan".

Speaking about inspiration, this could be the basis for developing a fast response fire boat. The adaptor on the jet could be developed into a dual purpose thruster for the tender (jetski) and pump for an on board water cannon. "Just" a flow branching exercise....

If you go up the twin jet path then you could eliminate any pesky branching issues. Heres an instructional video for the OP. I don't think that the folk who created this video relied on plans much.

More instructional (multi part) inspiration from my favourite tribe starts here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qain2L2uZdI&feature=related

Yeee Haaaw!!!!! (cue banjo music...)

I think the first guy to come up with and refine the water jet concept was Raymond Li (Jetlev). I saw it many years ago and his jet pack type kit was selling for 75K. Since then people figured out you can use the propulsion system from a jet ski to achieve similar results. I watched a show on Discovery where a backyard inventor put a pack together for a few hundred bucks in a weekend using ABS plastic pipe. It was crude but it worked.

wow this forum is great, i cant count the others where I have had no replies and ppl who don't know anything saying i need rockets.

BUT, yea ive already scouted out a fire hose, i'm a college student and can't weld so i'm goign to look for someone who could aid me with this project, it doesnt seem like rocket science ( i think that was mentioned above ) but its a project that my family is trying to stop, all i wanna do is barrow the jet ski ! if anyone has suggestions im willing to look into them. I'm currently thinking of modeling it with PVC, and then will look for a metal replica somewhere for the thrust nozels.

Can't weld???!!!!

Now seems like a good opportunity to learn.

Never, EVER, tell your family about these things.

Team up with a jetski owner. Are there no junkyards where you live?

Haha, yea i had to tell them..

There are junkyards somewhere around me (columbus Ohio)

I don't know anyone with a jetski that is 100HP+ (i can't afford to buy one)

AND no i can't weld =(...ideas? other than learnign because i can't afford the equipment as well, perhaps a craigslist add?!

*EDIT: Looking into CL adds i found a couple people who do welding and metal fabrication, i dont imagen the metal sections could cost too much to have made if i just design them on autocad (i use auto desk inventor, thanks OSU -.-...) or sketch out some diagrams on what i want.

all I'd need is the attatchment to the PWC, the main thrust nozzels/connection to the fire hose, and the nozzles for the arms

It's not just welding you have to do. There is a lot of cutting and interfacing that needs doing too. This will not be cheap to outsource with any predictably positive outcome.

I get the feeling that as well as being ill-equipped you may also lack the requisite skills/experience for this. All that means is you have a lot to learn and lot more to spend than you think.

You obviously have a passion and the right mindset to `learn but I also get the feeling that you do not have bags of money.

Wouldn't it be great if you had both the skills and the money?

You need to invest in some technical training.

Your obviously not being taught what you really want to learn in that college of yours.

Why don't you quit college and get a trade diploma apprenticeship/traineeship instead? You could flex those CAD muscles then too. (Don't quit college before you land an apprenticeship.)

BTW, How do you now that you really need more than 100HP?

The version shown in post 5 seems more straightforward, with just two nozzles. A single nozzle just behind the buttocks might be even simpler yet. Say 2 or 2.5" fed by a 3 or 4" hose?

No offense Wal but i'm not dropping out of college and going to a tech school, i've worked waaayto hard to get where i am now, plus once i get my engineering degree i'll have the cash to fund my projects!

But i agree i do need to learn some more skills for the types of projects i want to do.

I don't think that the metal work i need done is too extensive though, looking at the design its just a T shaped pipe with nozzels and the initial attatchment pipe to the wave runner.

I did outside reading on just the flyboard purchase option and it was stated that a minimum of 100HP is needed for it to work, i'm assuming thats just to get 35ft in the air though.

Ive been procrastinating lately, tomorrow i'll try to get my cads done and adress the metal works/welding adds from my local CL on a general price.

Zeig, you mentioned "T" shaped piped but that's over simplifying. The key with this design is water flow efficiency and a "T" type plumbing fitting will drastically reduce your flow rate. You need a "Y" type fitting to split your inlet then a smooth "U" leading to the output nozzles. The goal is to keep the water flow as smooth as possible. Otherwise you won't get enough power to lift you up. This is where you might run into problems because I'm not sure fittings like that are standard.

The lift nozzle end is easily assembled from stock plumbing components. Little or no fabrication required there.

The jet adaptor could also be fashioned from stock plumbing components. That just leaves the jet adapter plate to have made and the plumbing welded or bolted to it.

Heck! You could even lash a reducer onto the jet with some gal wire......

Terraman: you're right, i get lazy when i type sometimes, i would use more effecient piping to keep the water flowing better.

Yea i the only real fabrication that needs to be done would be the plate that connects to the jet ski, i'm going to see if i can work a connection i have to get my buddy to build it for me, it can't be too difficult.

My only unknown right now is how to connect the fire hose to the piping and how to build an effecient extended throttle control that can simply be attatched to the jet si with no modification.

Zeig, I remember now the show I saw was Nat Geo's Mad Scientist and not Discovery. The guy who made it is Tim Pickens. You should have a look at this video clip on the Nat Geo site. It talks about and shows a lot of detailed stuff that will help you. You can see how he made the tubing, connections, swivels, etc. It's worth a look. Good luck.

Happy Holidays!

ive actually seen some shorter videos on this but thanks! i'll check this out, so it looks likethat is made from PVC? I didn't think pvc could handle that kind of pressure

There is kind of a trade-off between flow rate and pressure, so the pressure need not be terribly high. PVC comes in various wall thicknesses; the heavier ones can probably handle 200 psi or more. The National Geographic example looks as though made from ABS. Either way, the fittings and pipe are economical, and would be a good choice for experimentation. I say Go for it, and be prepared to try several options.

(The Nat Geo video must be rather long. I gave up on downloading it.)

Maybe I messed up with linking the word to the URL. I watched the video on the Nat Geo site and it's only about 4min. You can go directly to the site and look up Mad Scientist.

Hi, just coming back to this thread, noticed it was still active. I can't belive no one has done any calculations to assist you.

Bored at work, knocked these out. So to lift the weight of a person (weight is a force), need to counter the force generated by the persons mass ans the accelleration due to gravity.

F=m.a I assumed 100 kg mass for round numbers, which equates to a force of 100 kgf (or 980 N).

There are many types of thrust forces, but at it's most basic the thrust force is the mass flowrate times the velocity. I've calculated this below.

So basically for a 80mm pipe passing 75 L/sec, you'd get the basic force needed to counter the weight force of a 100kg person.

But this is hypothetical, cos at almost 15 m/sec velocity the pressure drop in the pipe would be off the charts, and you'd need a massive (high pressure) pump to supply such flow.

Because you are using a seadoo - which will delivery large flow but at low pressure (atmospheric pressure). We need to upscale to line to avoid pressure drop issues, while still achieving the thrust required. See below.

Now because of the mush lower velocity (down to 1.5 m/sec) you won't have pressure drop in the hose, and therefore theoretically possible to use the seadoo (which will deliver large flow at low pressure). But now look at the flowrate needed (over 700 L/sec) - not sure if your seadoo will be able to achieve this (please confirm). Also the line diameter is now massive - impossible.

Because of the issues we just went through, I don't think it is possible to use your seadoo. At the flowrate putout by the seadoo, there will be singnificant pressure drop. Assuming the seadoo is able to increase the pressure of the water, the flow will be vastly reduced. However I don't believe the seadoo would handle this well - as this unit would be built for light weight performance not high pressure - very possible to cause damage this way.

So - how to get this to work ...

Seadoo is out, you need a pump. If we accept some pressure loss in the line we can get the approximate flow in a line that is acceptable. So I'm going with 80 L/sec and 100mm line. See below.

This gives us ~800 N of force (may be enough to lift 75 kg or so). This is in a 100mm line (which is manageable), and has a pressure drop of ~400 kPag (which is manageable for pump selection).

But this is only looking at thrust simply from moving the water, if we add in thrust from nozzles, it will boost the thrust. The additional force is generated by accellerating water in the nozzle, the energy for this is from increased line pressure.

If we add an 80mm nozzle to our 100mm line. I get the following ...

Now this has potential to work. In theory you've got enough throust to lift a person with additional gear, etc. Side thrusters (hand controlled nozzles) will take evergy away from the main thruster in a controlled manner, allowing a soft controlled decent.

Actually haven't accounted for lifting force to lift the hose of water (this will add significant thrust requirements). Added some meat to the pump calculation to compensate.

Anyway you get the idea. You'll need a reasonble sized pump to send 300 - 400 m3/hr of water at 400 - 500 kPag. And it'll need to have power supply (75 kW 3 phase supply).

Sorry bout your budget.

Hope this helps.

Anthony

Anthony, your info is great but you say it won't work with a Seadoo. The guy in the Nat Geo video made it work...with a Seadoo!. The ABS pipe version was only powerful enough to lift his daughter but the version with custom built piping managed to get him almost 20ft in the air.

Oh man, trust me i have nothing against people equating for me, and i'm thrilled you put in all that effort instead of work :P! BUT, the seadoo works, the flyboard video shows a seadoo working and so does the jetpack.

So i think i have this all down my only problem is betting my piviting to pivot where the hose connects to the thrust nozzels, that way the weight and pressure from the hose trying to straiten from the pressure wont throw me off balance or into some rocks!

swivel joint examples

Hey Alex!

Good seeing you saturday ;)

Anyway this project intrigues me. \

Ill begin by saying.. Whatever it is you wind up making, without the proper knowledge of fluid dynamics, tools, and machine work skills, your fly board may "just work." It will never be what it is you see in the video(a highly tuned and developed piece of human/dolphin technology) :)

Now,with that being said, and with the little bit of research I have done, it appears a few people have been able to make "jetpack" devices in their backyards AND with a simple jet ski.

You may want to look over this patent. It is for the jetlev (jetpack looking device). I did not get through the entire thing but it has some great info!

http://www.google.com/patents/US7258301?printsec=abstract&source=gbs_overview_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Also I thought id make a list of things needed to make this work.

I would start with the jetski and work backwards to the board.

1) First thing is for you either find the part (or have it machined) that will attach to the output of the jet ski pump. that video you posted shows it to be a simple bolt on deal.

If it was me I would have a part like this http://zjfulan.en.made-in-china.com/product/OeImJqVMnyhT/China-Storz-Adaptor-Male-Female-Thread-Brass.html

welded to the detachable part in step 1.

To keep this thing cheap as you may have noticed I linked you to a page for a "storz" fitting adaptor. This appears to be the standard fire hose fitting already fitted to common fire hoses.

This will NOT be the most efficient and "flow" concious way of doing things but it will keep the cost low. You will have to avoid the cost of a machinist working with you to "experimentally" reinvent this whole "flyboard" device.

2) get a hose with storz fittings! http://www.chiefsupply.com/3496-Kochek-4-Large-Diameter-Rubber-covered-Fire-Hose.aspx?sku=RC4X100STZRD&source=Google+Base_CHIEF+Supply

3) again use a storz adapter and maybe some welding to get the hose to attach to some sort of manifold

4) Manifold!! Now since my approve is cheap and ghetto ;) I thought you could use a "header" from a car engine. google it if need be. here is a photo of something a machinist maybe able to re create for you. (its similar to the jetlev manifold. http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1C1SKPC_enUS332US350&biw=1366&bih=677&tbm=isch&tbnid=GxxFPr7wZCaF9M:&imgrefurl=http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/projecttina/aug72006-3.htm&docid=q70AfzfRd4fqlM&imgurl=http://www.aaroncake.net/misc/rebuild/350%252520-%252520Exhaust%252520Y%252520Pipe%252520Finished.jpg&w=640&h=480&ei=GI_6TsnnBovuggf1k-mMAg&zoom=1

Or maybe just poke through the junk yard and look for some sort of 2 cylinder header or 4 cylinder non-inline header, you get the idea, just a header with two branches

like this

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1C1SKPC_enUS332US350&biw=1366&bih=677&tbm=isch&tbnid=L-xlTwj2yeqKvM:&imgrefurl=http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/00-Arctic-Cat-ZL550-ESR-Exhaust-Manifold-Y-Pipe-/380183658442&docid=7N-HFoBt2U4z6M&itg=1&imgurl=http://www.xtrmarine.com/auctions/active/112009/ZLExhaustManifold/xl_DSC05918.jpg&w=800&h=600&ei=GI_6TsnnBovuggf1k-mMAg&zoom=1

You will need to ad a SWIVEL in between the hose adaptor and manifold of course

ok now i'm tired of typing and raping the rules of proper comma use :) hope this can kick start some research.

Again I feel if you are going to make this its going to be a device that "just might work" and not a performance machine :)

Good luck I'll keep in touch!

I have just finished building my own flyboard and put some plans together for anyone who wants to build their own. I have them for sale for $29.99 if you are interested email me at flyboardplans@gmail.com. Here is a video i made testing it the first time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56gU7oEXiP4

Anyone have a good source for this eo-tech ar-15 gun site like this http://www.policesupplyonline.com/