Ahhh, the jetpack. For almost a hundred years, mankind has been fascinated with this technology, and for almost a hundred years we’ve wasted our time on it.
If you haven’t heard the news, Swiss airline pilot Yves Rossy managed to jet his way across the Channel between England and France in under ten minutes last Friday. What makes his jetpack truly original and fascinating is that it has wings.
“Rossy developed and built a winged pack with rigid aeroplane-type carbon-fiber wings with a span of about 8 feet (2.4 m), and four small kerosene-burning Jet-Cat jet engines under the wings; these engines are large versions of a type designed for model aeroplanes. He wears a heat-resistant suit similar to that of a firefighter or racing driver to protect him from the hot jet exhaust.”
The jetpacks you see frequently on TV are powered using pressurized hydrogen peroxide (typically giving the wearer less than a minute of flying time). Yves’ jetpack is not only powered by kerosene, but the added wing allows the user more directional flexibility and higher speeds, not to mention longer flying times.
But while this latest addition to the world of science blows our minds, do we need a jetpack?
I liken it to the quest for a lightsaber. It’s something that has fascinated us since we were kids. Do I want a lightsaber? Of course. Should one be made? Heck no. The damage wreaked on the populace if lightsabers were made available would be catastrophic.
Same with the jetpack.
Movies like The Rocketeer make us believe that having our own personal jetpack would be great, but imagine if everyone did have one. Humans already have a hard time navigating a flat surface (not just cars, how many times have you bumped into people walking?), adding in a third dimension would be insane. And while the BBC reports Yves saying “his success signaled “big potential” for people to fly “a little bit like a bird” in the future.” I’m just not seeing it.
So yes, it’s great that Yves managed to cross the Channel in under ten minutes using a jetpack. In fact, it’s pretty friggin’ awesome. But I don’t foresee the jetpack ever being used as more than a novelty or a tool in a future sport of some sort (maybe Quidditch?).
Image: fernando banzi (Flickr, CC-Attribution)
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