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walker

Dutchman flies by flapping his arms

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will any country allow thier use by the public?

I hope none.

~50,000 die a year on the roads in the US alone, and they're only driving in TWO dimensions, imagine the carnage if you let "average joe" (with an IQ of 6) behind the "wheel" of a flying car... Flak guns and a re-inforced roof will be en-vogue for home modification if this is the case.

There is a very specific reason that it is much MUCH harder to get a pilots licence than a drivers...

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What? Not a reference to you, it's a term in common usage round our way?

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I hope none.

~50,000 die a year on the roads in the US alone, and they're only driving in TWO dimensions, imagine the carnage if you let "average joe" (with an IQ of 6) behind the "wheel" of a flying car... Flak guns and a re-inforced roof will be en-vogue for home modification if this is the case.

There is a very specific reason that it is much MUCH harder to get a pilots licence than a drivers...

Well, at least it'd be good plan for population control. :D

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Does this vehicle need a few hundred meters of road to take off?

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Does this vehicle need a few hundred meters of road to take off?

It depends, most Autogyros can spin up the unpowered rotors to operating speed with a PTO device. That combined with a nice strong head wind can reduce the T/O run to almost nothing. If they start without powering up the rotors they need up to 200m depending on the aircraft type and weather conditions. They will never allow this to take off from the public road though, spinning rotors in a puplic place - yikes!

A few years ago a game keeper had an issue with an autogyro being used to monitor fox hunting as it was flying low and spooking horses. He was killed when he walked into the rear prop while going to confront the pilot. I saw this same aircraft a month earlier over the Yorkshire Wolds flying at 150 feet while I was out walking. So they can be a severe hazard to bystanders.

Edited by PELHAM

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I saw this video on the BBC website and was immediately reminded of a point brought up in this thread regarding the wing area required to lift a man etc.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17754246

Look at the wing span and the amount of flex in this wing. And this guy is not exactly a big lad. And not to mention the effort hes having to provide to get the speed to fly.

And here's the BBC Blog about it all: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/2012/04/bang-human-powered-plane.shtml

All rather interesting stuff, but it does nicely highlight the issue of mass vs wing area vs power discussed earlier.

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I don't imagine that this will come as a suprise to most of you but Jarno Smeets "The Flying Dutchman" has admitted it was a hoax and that he is in fact an animation artist.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17487282

EDIT: I also realise that this is a couple of months old now, but was for some reason featured in BBCs video list. :o

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Hehe, it might be an older thread but a relevant reason to post & finish it off nicely :)

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