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To heck with Segway: NASA personal flying suit goes 149 mph on 60 HP

By | January 22, 2010, 6:47am PST

Summary: NASA has announced that it is working on a personal flying suit that can cruise at 149 miles per hour.

NASA has announced that it is working on a personal flying suit that can cruise at 149 miles per hour.

It’s called “Puffin,” and the conceptual project is part one-man stealth plane, part personal jet pack in that it uses a 60 horsepower electric engine to carry a person to nearly 30,000 ft.

The Puffin promises — on paper at least — a self-contained design with proper “cockpit” and helicopter-style blades in a body that’s 12 feet in length and just 300 lbs., empty.

Want to know more and see a video? Head over to SmartPlanet’s Smart Takes blog for the scoop.

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NASA, Hewlett-Packard Co., Segway, Blade Servers, Corporate Communications, Blogging, Utility Computing, Servers, Hardware, Marketing, Internet, Andrew Nusca

Andrew J. Nusca is editor of ZDNet and SmartPlanet.

Disclosure

Andrew Nusca

Andrew J. Nusca does not hold any investments in the technology companies he covers.

Biography

Andrew Nusca

Editor

Andrew J. Nusca is an editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet. As a journalist based in New York City, he has written for Popular Mechanics and Men's Vogue and his byline has appeared in New York magazine, The Huffington Post, New York Daily News, Editor & Publisher, New York Press and many others. He also writes The Editorialiste, a media criticism blog.

He is a New York University graduate and former news editor and columnist of the Washington Square News. He is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has been named "Howard Kurtz, Jr." by film critic John Lichman despite having no relation to him. He lives in his native Philadelphia with his wife, cat and Boston Terrier.

Follow him on Twitter.

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To Heck with NASA - has this thing been released yet?
never2dark@... 12th Apr 2011
Or was the point of this personal flying craft just a waste of government (our) money?
View in thread
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another flying car?
Linux Geek 22nd Jan 2010
I don't think I'll be flying this car during my lifetime.
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Or...
evilkillerwhale@... 22nd Jan 2010
...using a computer worth a damn.
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Available...
gtvr 22nd Jan 2010
in year ????

Hopefully it starts with a 2. If it starts with a 20, even better.
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An interesting concept
eMJayy 22nd Jan 2010
Being an electric vehicle gives it several advantages, especially when it comes to altitude and noise pollution. But I'm concerned about the possibility of bird strikes during the takeoff and landing hover. And given the small wingspan of the craft, it seems to me that the vehicle might need to be traveling a bit faster before it can transition from hovering to forward flight. It won't be as easy as the video suggests to make that crucial transition, because you're not dealing with a wingspan that can provide a lot of lift at low forward speeds.

Also, being an electric vehicle, how exactly is it going to deal with icing conditions that give rise to ice buildup on the propellers and wings? That could be lethal.
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Just another Segway
wcallahan@... 22nd Jan 2010
Another Segway, relegate it to personal sports craft. There's no way this will make main stream.
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Nice idea
dag10 Updated - 22nd Jan 2010
But won't take on as a personal aircraft.

Why? One word:
Decapitation.

Maybe if they find an alternate lift method than
moving blades, it will be safe.
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RE: To heck with Segway: NASA personal flying suit goes 149 mph on 60 HP
ITOdeed 22nd Jan 2010
What a lame concept!
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Two things can kill you on an airplane
wcallahan@... 22nd Jan 2010
Props and Pilots. Seems this craft has both. The freeways are full of idiot drivers, so what makes anyone think they will be any safer in a personal airplane?
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Maybe...
JonA_z 22nd Jan 2010
it's the same things that makes them safer in personal airplanes
already.

You do know that there are far more personal aircraft than airliners.

A plane is much more difficult to operate than a car, so being an idiot
pilot is much harder to achieve than an being an idiot driver.

The freeways may be full of idiots, but in most ways being in the air
would be (is) far safer than being on the road.

First and foremost, there's simply a lot more room to maneuver. There
are three dimensions to deal with, not just two.
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Three dimensions
bob_e_y 22nd Jan 2010
There are three dimensions to deal with, but most people aren't ready to handle 3 dimensions. Most people don't do very well with 2. If you doubt it, just go anywhere on any highway and check out the distance between the cars. You'll still have aggressive drivers and tailgaters, and they'll be a lot more deadly.

If you think you'll have the same strict regulations that are currently controlling who can pilot aircraft, then you're admitting only a few people will ever have one. If they open it up to more of the public, you'll have idiots piloting 149 MPH 300 LB electric missiles at your house and each other.
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"There are three dimensions to deal with, not just two."
jpdemers@... 22nd Jan 2010
Yeah, and there are millions of morons who can't manage just two dimensions. With lane markers, traffic lights, and signage, at no more than 75 mph, they can't handle x and y.
Do you really want to turn them loose in 3 dimensions, with no lanes, no controls, and no signage? At twice the speed?? With NO BRAKES???

Let's all pray that the price remains at NASA and DOD levels for a long, long time.
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Yes, because more means less complicated.
evilkillerwhale@... 22nd Jan 2010
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Not for the average commuter
fromthehip 22nd Jan 2010
I can't see this as a solution for the average commuter. I have to agree that the majority of the yahoos on the road (excluding me, of course, I am a great driver) wouldn't be able to handle a small plane or wouldn't go through the extra licensing required to pilot a small plane. Then there would be IFR flying when it gets foggy.

The only way this would work for the average person is if you can punch in your destination and press a button to take you there. The rest would have to be completely automated. But, heck, they don't really even have a working system for cars (2d) to do that.

This is a funny little toy that is taking NASA engineers away from designing the next gen shuttle.

FTH
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I'll stick with Segway...
Narg 22nd Jan 2010
Why was the Segway and this even compared?
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Why?
wcallahan@... 22nd Jan 2010
To put into context a colossal failure.
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So what is gonna power the electric motor?
wa1den_b@... 22nd Jan 2010
If the design is as represented here, it is powered by a 60 horsepower ELECTRIC motor. An electric motor, of course, requires ELECTRICITY to function... so, what is going to be the power source??? Do they have something capable of storing or generating sufficient electrical power to keep that thing running on flights at the stated altitudes of about 30,000 feet? Are they going to generate the power with some sort of unique power generator, or are they planning to store the electricity needed to run it in some fashion?If they have the capability to do this, they should be thinking of putting it to use in electric cars... sounds like it would make for really efficient transportation in electric vehicles... think about it - enough power to drive a 60 hp electrical motor for major distances, and that device is going to be ONLY A PORTION of the weight of a transportation vehicle that will weigh only about 300 pounds. Sounds like it would do miracles in a car/ground-vehicle. I wonder what it would cost? (could anyone besides Warren Buffet afford one?)
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Editor
Great question.
andrew.nusca 22nd Jan 2010
Your answer: about 100 lbs. of rechargeable
lithium phosphate batteries.
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Excellent points
wcallahan@... 22nd Jan 2010
And I see two props, does that equal two motors?
Battery technology probably won't work (too heavy), maybe a fuel cell, though I don't see much storage space for fuel. Ah, Mr. Fusion, that's it!
Why would you waste your time climbing to 30k for a 60 mile trip?
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Lithium Air Batteries
ScottTaylorMCPD 22nd Jan 2010
A number of technologies are already in the works which are expected to eventually lead to at least a magnitude improvement in battery storage capacity. The most promising is currently the lithium air battery.

Reference:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/science/15batt.html
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Ain't gonna happen.
frgough 22nd Jan 2010
It's called electrochemistry and puts an absolute limit on how much
electrical power you can get out of a chemical reaction.

Physics is not interested in your wishes.
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You must know best
fromthehip 22nd Jan 2010
"It's called electrochemistry and puts an absolute limit on how much
electrical power you can get out of a chemical reaction."

Well, I guess you must know more than the Nobel winning physicist they quoted in the linked article. Wow, what's it feel like to always be right?

FTH
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The answer is
frgough 22nd Jan 2010
the vehicle will have a flight time of about 10 minutes.
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So what is gonna power the electric motor?
jpdemers@... 22nd Jan 2010
It has a really long cord. happy
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Nothing new here!!!
francis.tchertoff@... Updated - 22nd Jan 2010


http://helendipity.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/buzz-lightyear.jpg

LOL
;-D)
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Nice...
wcallahan@... 22nd Jan 2010
happy
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RE: To heck with Segway: NASA personal flying suit goes 149 mph on 60 HP
rmakara1 22nd Jan 2010
I'm wondering where the "suit" part comes in. A suit is something you put on; not get into. Jet Packs were done in the '60s. Where did they go? Like some others said, this idea will never 'fly'.
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Forget it
vikingnyc@... 22nd Jan 2010
NASA is the king of vaporware, and has been since Silicon Valley became a household world.
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"word", I meant...*sigh*
vikingnyc@... 22nd Jan 2010
NT
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Death will be quick since your going to hit head first.
dave@... 22nd Jan 2010
Test pilot nightmare.
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How far....
tgschmidt 22nd Jan 2010
....can this thing fly on one engine?

I would guess right to the scene of the crash! (Ron White)
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RE: To heck with Segway: NASA personal flying suit goes 149 mph on 60 HP
richard233 Updated - 22nd Jan 2010
Edit: This was supposed to be under the guy
asking about jet packs.

They are technically called rocket belts.
They still exist and are used at shows.
The problem is, they go through the fuel very fast so
you have an extremely short flight time so its not
practical. Personal flight is unlikely with today's
tech simply because when idiots collide, they can fall on someone else.
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Ummm, does the word "ultralight" ring any bells?
fairportfan 22nd Jan 2010
"Personal flight is unlikely with today's
tech simply because when idiots collide, they can fall on someone else."

This is basically just a slightly up-scale ultralight aircraft, which are already not uncommon.
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RE: To heck with Segway: NASA personal flying suit goes 149 mph on 60 HP
midenginedrift 22nd Jan 2010
That's not a "suit" !
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RE: To heck with Segway: NASA personal flying suit goes 149 mph on 60 HP
bhaskins@... 22nd Jan 2010
Please remember, the country is broke. Everything that is being spent now is borrowed, never will be repaid, and will just add to the personal overhead of all of us, our children, and our grandchildren. This is just a lot more money being flushed down the rat hole for yet another stupid idea and you will!!! have to pay for it.
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Taxpayer funded?
rshores Updated - 22nd Jan 2010
Isn't NASA wholly taxpayer funded (unless I missed the latest bake sale)?

Our tax dollars are being spent on ***THIS***?
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RE: To heck with Segway: NASA personal flying suit goes 149 mph on 60 HP
gmillward@... 22nd Jan 2010
Wouldn't want to be in this baby at 30,000 feet when the batteries die!
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Who in their right mind....
storm14k 22nd Jan 2010
...would use this thing? I can see the collisions now.
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I'm thinking a whole lot of people
guiri 22nd Jan 2010
will have all kinds of neck problems from trying to keep your head up in the horizontal position and that's the only thing I would have a problem with, the position.

George
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Lame. Really lame
Dorkyman 22nd Jan 2010
Just because you can THINK of something, doesn't make it PRACTICAL.

Reminds me of some of the sketches I did in 5th grade.
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Whee!...Look at me... I can fly
JohnGuts 22nd Jan 2010
Simply another Darwinian winnowing of egregious risk takers.
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AMEN
bob_e_y 22nd Jan 2010
AMEN!!!
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man and machine, Power Xtreme!
Bellhop 22nd Jan 2010
Go Ace McCloud!
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Maintenance & Pull UP!!
tgschmidt 22nd Jan 2010
The way some people maintain their cars, it's terrible. Can you imagine these things falling out of the sky because someone is pushing the maintenance schedule?

Then, the first time one of these flies into the 20th floor of an office building, look out!!
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With no airport screening...
adornoe@... Updated - 22nd Jan 2010
Bin-Laden and Al-Qaeda will want thousands of those. Imagine all the suicide missions they can carry out with a few pounds of explosives in each of them.
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Bin Laden...
jpdemers@... 22nd Jan 2010
...can buy a Cessna whenever it suits him - and it will carry a lot more C4. (Not that he'd actually need any to ruin the day of a 747 pilot.)
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Very doubful...
adornoe@... 23rd Jan 2010
Bin Laden can buy a Cessna whenever it suits him

If he wanted to, he would've done it a long time ago. And if he wanted to, he would be risking getting arrested or shot on the spot. Furthermore, he would have no use for a Cessna when he's spending all his time hiding in the caves and mountains in Pakistan.

and it will carry a lot more C4.

Bin-Laden, just like all other cowardly terrorist leaders, delegates suicide and bombing missions to others.

(Not that he'd actually need any to ruin the day of a 747 pilot.)

Just the fact the he exists ruins the days of most pilots and airline customers. Without Bin-Laden and Al-Qaeda and all terrorists, life would be a lot simpler and more secure and less worrisome and less costly.

The personal flight aircraft would offer more opportunities for Al-Qaeda and Bin-Laden. Thankfully, the idea is a long way off and very likely will never come to fruition.
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A lot of people can't even drive!
lehnerus2000 Updated - 22nd Jan 2010
The casualties would make traffic accidents "pale in comparison". Clowns would be constantly plummeting out of the sky (into hospitals, schools and so on).

lehnerus2000
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Is the 30,000 feet
elderlybloke 22nd Jan 2010
vertical or horizontal ?
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Really?
evilkillerwhale@... 22nd Jan 2010
It flies to 30,000 feet. That implies vertical.
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Thats the length of the power cord... NT
SiO2 23rd Jan 2010
.
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To Heck with NASA - has this thing been released yet?
never2dark@... 12th Apr 2011
Or was the point of this personal flying craft just a waste of government (our) money?

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