Bionic Wings > Jetpack

[Bruno]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/20/man-flies-like-a-bird-with-home-made-cyborg-wings/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

[Cain]

Missed opportunity for playing "I believe I can fly" over the video, right there.

He looks pretty tired, too, as you would expect.  I still await my jetpack for this exact reason.

[Faust]

... I think I can build this.

Gonna have to contact this guy.

[Elder Iptuous]

wow! that's awesome!

a dream of mankind realized...

[Doktor Howl]

And then he flew too close to the sun.   

[Elder Iptuous]

heh.... this guy should have a son to fly up there with him, no?

one thing about this being better than Yvess Rossy's jet-wing, is that it appears that if it breaks, its fail state is a still useful glider, rather than having to deploy a chute.

[Elder Iptuous]

some "real or fake?" analyses:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/analysis-of-the-human-birdwings/
http://gizmodo.com/5894904/man-flies-like-a-bird-flapping-his-own-wings

ETA: some of the CG guys at ILM weigh in on the 'fake' side:
http://gizmodo.com/5895235/cgi-experts-say-flying-bird-man-is-fake

[Kai]

Well, hey, if the authenticity is in question, all they need to do is repeat the flight. *shrug*

I do know that when I saw this video, I thought, "There's no way this is going to work". And then it did, and I squealed out loud. So, if this works this is major, fulfilling a thousand year old dream.

[Chairman Risus]

Admitted hoax, yo.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/birdman-admits-hoax/

[Chairman Risus]

And a jetpack is still cooler. How are you supposed to fly through windows with giant wings?

[Doktor Howl]

And a jetpack is still cooler. How are you supposed to fly through windows with giant wings?

Armor the leading edges.

[Mistre]

And just like that, I went from super excited to thoroughly heart broken.

So, yeah, it's like meeting Santa Claus and realising it's your dad...

I need some time alone now.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

One of the first things I thought upon reading that it was a hoax was that, yeah, but it is theoretically possible, and it captured many imaginations... which means that the odds that someone will make it happen for real are pretty high.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

One of the first things I thought upon reading that it was a hoax was that, yeah, but it is theoretically possible, and it captured many imaginations... which means that the odds that someone will make it happen for real are pretty high.

Its basically a problem of physics. A human simply doesn't have the muscle to generate the mechanical energy and momentum necessary to lift the mass of a human. Various forms of gliding are likely the only option we'll ever have... unless of course someone figures out that Bournelli was wrong.

[Bruno]

This was supposed to be power assisted flight, not human powered. He talked about motors and LiPo batteries.

And haptic controls and stuff.