4 ms·

Jetpacks have been around for years, tons of youtube videos of people flying them. You can even buy one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj-Iwv5NJKg https://ww

Jetpacks have been around for years, tons of youtube videos of people flying them. You can even buy one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj-Iwv5NJKg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj-Iwv5NJKg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBe9bucYPcY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBe9bucYPcY

egfx 6y ago
Is there a reason why the flights are all over water? LAX doesn’t have a body of water surrounding it other then the Pacific Ocean. Is that a requirement for the jet pack?
- geerlingguy 6y ago
  I'm pretty sure its because falling hundreds of feet into water is more survivable than hundreds of feet into earth or concrete. There are flights, however, over land, but they usually involve a lot of practice and permitting.
  - mamon 6y ago
    >> falling hundreds of feet into water is more survivable than hundreds of feet into earth or concrete. No, not really - hitting watter as damaging as hitting concrete once you get above 100 feet high. But at least you're not going to kill an unlucky pederastian by falling on them.
    - oh_sigh 6y ago
      The world record for cliff diving is 192', so I'm sure there is some special way you can enter the water, if not safely, at least more safely than entering land.
      - outworlder 6y ago
        Just up to a point. Go fast enough and water won't be able to get out of the way in time.
      - Filligree 6y ago
        Probably not if you're also wearing a jetpack. It'll rip you in half.
- detritus 6y ago
  I could've sworn I remember reading that Hoverboard pioneer Franky Zapata was only allowed to test over bodies of water when practising in his native France, but I'll be damned if I can conjur the right keywords to googlefu a specific answer, so now I'm [as often] wondering whether I just made it up... - minor ed: addition
  - egfx 6y ago
    Is this the discussion you were referring to? Maybe it’s these guys running QA tests. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19334909 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19334909
    - detritus 6y ago
      No, it wasn't something from HN, but more than that I can't specifically recall.
- hondo77 6y ago
  > LAX doesn’t have a body of water surrounding it other then the Pacific Ocean. LOL

egfx 6y ago

Is there a reason why the flights are all over water? LAX doesn’t have a body of water surrounding it other then the Pacific Ocean. Is that a requirement for the jet pack?

geerlingguy 6y ago
I'm pretty sure its because falling hundreds of feet into water is more survivable than hundreds of feet into earth or concrete. There are flights, however, over land, but they usually involve a lot of practice and permitting.
- mamon 6y ago
  >> falling hundreds of feet into water is more survivable than hundreds of feet into earth or concrete. No, not really - hitting watter as damaging as hitting concrete once you get above 100 feet high. But at least you're not going to kill an unlucky pederastian by falling on them.
  - oh_sigh 6y ago
    The world record for cliff diving is 192', so I'm sure there is some special way you can enter the water, if not safely, at least more safely than entering land.
    - outworlder 6y ago
      Just up to a point. Go fast enough and water won't be able to get out of the way in time.
    - Filligree 6y ago
      Probably not if you're also wearing a jetpack. It'll rip you in half.
detritus 6y ago
I could've sworn I remember reading that Hoverboard pioneer Franky Zapata was only allowed to test over bodies of water when practising in his native France, but I'll be damned if I can conjur the right keywords to googlefu a specific answer, so now I'm [as often] wondering whether I just made it up... - minor ed: addition
- egfx 6y ago
  Is this the discussion you were referring to? Maybe it’s these guys running QA tests. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19334909 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19334909
  - detritus 6y ago
    No, it wasn't something from HN, but more than that I can't specifically recall.
hondo77 6y ago
> LAX doesn’t have a body of water surrounding it other then the Pacific Ocean. LOL