NASA Announces Designs for Personal Flying Suit
Forget about the Segway. Let the jet pack back. NASA is working on a personal flight suit.
Conceptual designs for the experimental vehicle, named Puffin, were presented by Mark D. Moore, an aerospace engineer at NASA Langley Research Center, at a meeting of the American Helicopter Society on 20 January in San Francisco. The puffin is designed to be 12 feet long, with a total wingspan of 14 feet and a half, but weighed 300 pounds (without driver).
Two important elements distinguish the Puffin suit jet packs of the 50-sci-fi films of the period. First, is fully autonomous: the pilot actually step in the application, which has a similar cockpit to the area by helicopter-style blades, allowing high-altitude flight (unlike packages sci-fi jet ).
Second, is designed to be propelled by electric motors, so it is relatively quiet, lighter and more reliable (electric motors have fewer moving parts than conventional), and low environmental impact.
Of course, the shearwater is only a theory at this time. It could be better used for covert military missions or rescue operations. But if there is an option for conventional flight, traffic jams could have a whole new meaning.
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