I'll take "Jet Powered Dives Into Terrain" for $500, Alex.

I coulda swore I saw this same thing on a Cobra trooper circa 1988...

Ever ridden a motorcycle at around 80 MPH? Without a windshield it feels like your head is slowly being peeled from your body. I suspect this thing goes faster than 80. This guy will need traction if he survives the landing.

Let me be the first to say . . .Condorman!!!

Best use of technology to date. I want one.

That actually doesn't sound very heavy, when you think about most hiking/camping backpacks weighing in at 60 to 120 pounds when fully packed (depending on your needs and inability to pack properly)... But...yeah, I'd definitely wait for that one to get tested and revised a bit before strapping jet fuel to my ass and starting the engine.

BW: Most skydivers are used to going about 125 mph without a windshield, that being the terminal velocity of an unladen human being.

now - can we arm it? sidewinders, hellfires?

It reminds me of the guy in the flying squirrel outfit jumping out of a helicopter over a snow-covered mountain. Video: http://media.putfile.com/flying_parachute That and Buzz Lightyear: "To Infinity...and Beyond!"

Needs missiles.

BWGunner: the landing is a normal parachute. You drop from 4000m (~14000 ft), then "fly" to your destination (it says up to 200 miles away). At 3000ft (note - mixed units), you release the parachute, and the wing falls below you (tethered). Your landing would be a typical parachute landing...

This raises a series of questions: -Will tall people get their legs fried? -How do you keep it out of the hands of terrorists? -Isn't it dangerous for the diver & anyone below to release this thing while falling? -Will it they sell it at Wal-Mart?

The speed doesn't concern me. How is the test pilot/martyr going to prepare for the heat from the jet engines? Walk around with a MacBook strapped to his back? That should do it, actually.

>>-Isn't it dangerous for the diver & anyone below to release this thing while falling?<< Did the word paratrooper not convey enough danger already? It's designed for military use. And the wing doesn't free fall, as said before, it's teathered during the parachute fall.

Stan, now THAT's how you roast an Apple, nice. The difference between this and skydiving is easy. When your whole body is receiving the same force, resisting it isn't that hard. when your head is snapped back 90 degrees so you can see where you're going...taking the full breaking brunt of the wind...it's another story. More like a motorcycle, less like freefall. This guy won't be worrying about any terminal velocity other than the speed he's going when he hits the side of a mountain. He will need traction on landing...as in, after the severe head buffetting, regardless of landing pain, he'll have a wealthy chiropractor and a new squishy foam necklace.

Doesn't he need a pointy helmet?

That's not flying. It's falling with style.

I dont want to be the first paratrooper shot down by a heat-seaking missile. It would be cooler to fly from the ground to 10k feet on a rocket then parachute down.

66 pounds for the whole rig isn't very heavy at all. I'm a hang glider pilot, and my glider weighs about 60 pounds -- and that's just the sail and some aluminum tubes. Add on another 20-25 pounds for the harness, parachute, etc., and it adds up, but you're really only carrying the weight immediately before launch and after landing. And these guys don't even have to worry about the landing part.

And by "Gryphon," they mean "Acme."

does it come with options>?supercharger. or turbo boost. in the future can it reach warp speed>? does my local insurance company cover collission, and does my jurasicdiction, allow its use, during certain hours,or will my wife allow me to play with it?: so many factors so many variables, comes down to lack of sense and sensability.

12107 hwy 33 picton ontario u think that piece of shit can actually fly you should come see mine ask for dan