Illustration and rough concept: Personal Aerodyne

[wbnc]

Another "personal" vehicle, this one isnt for the faint of heart...It's a personal/wearable vector thrust "vehicle"

the pilot straps into it and is supported by the straps while he flies. hHand control and a basic autopilot manage the thrust system to keep him airborne and moving under control. Is available around TL-7 and at around Cr35,000 about the third the price of a grav belt.

It is limited to planets with an atmosphere since it uses a small gas turbine engine for power and thrust. Forget about cargo or weapons...but if you can shove it in a backpack or fire it by hand you can probably still bring it along. If you are wearing Battle Dress you could probably simply bolt this onto your armor, but if you have Battle Dress you can probably afford a grav belt

I can se it being used by police, and rescue services for getting around in heavily built up areas, or as a scouting unit for lower tech military forces, And of course those crazy idjits who like the idea of going 200kph without a layer of nice solid metal around them...

 

[steve98052]

I know these things exist in the real world. Besides documentaries and such, I saw one in a James Bond movie. James knew how to fly it, of course.

That reminds me of another real personal flying craft featured in a James Bond movie: a tiny helicopter that is more or less a rotor, an engine, and a lawn chair.

 

[alex_greene]

I know these things exist in the real world. Besides documentaries and such, I saw one in a James Bond movie. James knew how to fly it, of course.

That reminds me of another real personal flying craft featured in a James Bond movie: a tiny helicopter that is more or less a rotor, an engine, and a lawn chair.

An autogyro. Also called gyroplane, gyrocopter, or rotaplane.

 

[wbnc]

I actually got the idea for one of the old prototype flight packs fro eh guys who worked on bells jet Packs. they got their hands on a small je egine from an early air-breathing missile and used it...and were able to maintain flight for 30 minutes. Unfortunately, both Bell and the army had lost interest by this point.

The autogyros are nifty little aircraft, very short takeoff run, and they won't stall, and if the engine dies they autorotate to the ground. if you crash in an autogyro either a rotor came off, or you flew it into something.

 

[alex_greene]

The autogyros are nifty little aircraft, very short takeoff run, and they won't stall, and if the engine dies they autorotate to the ground. if you crash in an autogyro either a rotor came off, or you flew it into something.

Or you flew it over one too many SPECTRE bases hidden inside Japanese volcanoes.

 

[wbnc]

The autogyros are nifty little aircraft, very short takeoff run, and they won't stall, and if the engine dies they autorotate to the ground. if you crash in an autogyro either a rotor came off, or you flew it into something.

Or you flew it over one too many SPECTRE bases hidden inside Japanese volcanoes.

Well yes, there is that...but I think that comes in under pilot error as well. I mean everyone knows that volcanoes are the preferred location of 90% of global coalitions of evil....., second to tropical islands, and the arctic wastes...

 

[alex_greene]

The autogyros are nifty little aircraft, very short takeoff run, and they won't stall, and if the engine dies they autorotate to the ground. if you crash in an autogyro either a rotor came off, or you flew it into something.

Or you flew it over one too many SPECTRE bases hidden inside Japanese volcanoes.

Well yes, there is that...but I think that comes in under pilot error as well. I mean everyone knows that volcanoes are the preferred location of 90% of global coalitions of evil....., second to tropical islands, and the arctic wastes...

True, and there is the added incentive that, as Mirage once pointed out, volcanic soil is among the most fertile on Earth ...