# Rocket Man. How cool is this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 16, 2008, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528 "2008-05-16T06:55:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/1 "2008-05-16T06:55:20Z")
[The Real Life Buzz Lightyear](http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/may/15/5) How amazing would this be? A set of jet wings strapped to your back, flying over the Alps at almost 200mph? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/2 "2008-05-16T07:29:16Z")
That’s just falling, with style. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/3 "2008-05-16T08:07:36Z")
OK, it is _bloody_ cool though. Want one. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/4 "2008-05-16T08:19:04Z")
I regret all the times I’ve used the phrase “too cool for words”. I should have been saving it up for this occasion. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/5 "2008-05-16T08:29:03Z")
Would have been infinitely cooler if he’d glided to a landing instead of parachuting to earth. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/6 "2008-05-16T09:20:49Z")
For those who want some more: [Official site](http://www.jet-man.com/prod/index_en.html) And some YouTube videos of earlier test flights (with 1st person perspective!): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/j-66AcTo9TU/hqdefault.jpg "Jet-man: Human powered flight") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-66AcTo9TU) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bEXxkWXncuo/hqdefault.jpg "Yves Rossy The Swiss Jet Man / Fusion Man / Rocket Man - ENGLISH SUBTITLES www.jetman.ch/") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEXxkWXncuo) The second video has some explanation in French that’s not translated. The reason the wings fold is that they needed to fit in the plane. Somehow I think it makes the device even cooler, though. There’s a smoke generator, which is where you get the trails from. I liked his comment at the end (paraphrased): “it feels like you have a big handle on your back and God’s dragging you through the sky.” ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/7 "2008-05-16T09:34:33Z")
If this doesn’t get into a James Bond movie, there is something wrong with the world. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/8 "2008-05-16T10:46:46Z")
[QUOTE=Omniscient] Would have been infinitely cooler if he’d glided to a landing instead of parachuting to earth. [/QUOTE] Yeah, although using your face as landing gear doesn’t sound like fun. I don’t think there’s any way you could flare, stall and just drop onto your feet on the ground, with a machine like that. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/9 "2008-05-16T10:48:18Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] If this doesn’t get into a James Bond movie, there is something wrong with the world. [/QUOTE] They already had something a bit like it in _Die Another Day_ - although this is cooler. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/10 "2008-05-16T10:50:59Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] OK, it is _bloody_ cool though. Want one. [/QUOTE] Your next project? I mean you’ve built a boat, a winged jetpack can’t be that much more difficult! ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/11 "2008-05-16T10:52:47Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Yeah, although using your face as landing gear doesn’t sound like fun. I don’t think there’s any way you could flare, stall and just drop onto your feet on the ground, with a machine like that. [/QUOTE] Yeah, you’re right, but to me it’s not flying if you’re not landing under your own power. That would be the innovation. ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/12 "2008-05-16T10:59:52Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] [QUOTE=Mangetout] OK, it is bloody cool though. Want one. [/QUOTE] Your next project? I mean you’ve built a boat, a winged jetpack can’t be that much more difficult! [/QUOTE] Put a wing and a couple of rockets on the boat? ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/13 "2008-05-16T11:10:50Z")
[QUOTE=nd\_n8] Put a wing and a couple of rockets on the boat? [/QUOTE] Awesomer! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/14 "2008-05-16T12:23:44Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] Your next project? I mean you’ve built a boat, a winged jetpack can’t be that much more difficult! [/QUOTE] You understand me too well. ---
**Author:** ![MovingTarget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@MovingTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovingTarget)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/15 "2008-05-16T13:25:56Z")
I never thought they would have something in real life that would be cooler than anything in a Bond movie, but this takes the cake. I will wait patiently until they start renting flights with this kind of thing, then I’ll be one of the first in line. It’s truly awesome. SN1P3 ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/16 "2008-05-16T13:26:38Z")
[QUOTE=Omniscient] Yeah, you’re right, but to me it’s not flying if you’re not landing under your own power. That would be the innovation. [/QUOTE] Wow, what a nitpick. I’ll bet you think hot girls have sharp knees, too. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/17 "2008-05-16T15:13:30Z")
Very cool, but he needs a new [helmet](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000EB9ZII/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=165793011&s=toys-and-games). ---
**Author:** ![pantheon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@pantheon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantheon)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/18 "2008-05-16T15:28:23Z")
Have you guys seen the “batwing” suits, people gliding along cliffs at 150+MPH like flying squirrels? Amazing stuff (although nothing like the jet/wings- that was bitchin’), google it up if you haven’t seen. Here’s one: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYwZlDp5x6Y](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYwZlDp5x6Y) ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/19 "2008-05-16T16:50:45Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] How cool is this? [/QUOTE] Oh, around 3.15 on the pi scale. That would have been cool over Kansas. Over the Alps it’s simply spectacular. Here I was thinking I’d had an enjoyable morning commute and was getting a lot done during the day. In comparison, turns out both perceptions were way off. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528/20 "2008-05-16T17:02:10Z")
Did nobody else immediately think of Wiley Coyote? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-how-cool-is-this/449528.md?page=2)