Paramedics with jetpacks...the future of mountain rescue?

[Rheged]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-54341378

Having had to carry mountain rescue / first aid gear up several fellsides when I was involved in Lake District M/R,  this seems to me to be a thoroughly good thing!! A half hour climb with heavy loads reduced to a couple of minutes flight is amazing............I only wish that it had been possible 40 years ago

[PR19_Kit]

I note he had red and green nav lights on his jet-pack, but they were flashing alternately!

I expect the CAA would have something to say about that that............ 

[kerick]

I hope it's proven to work. The additional applications could be amazing. Think of flying up to a balcony on a high rise building instead of trudging up stairs or waiting for an elevator!

[Knightflyer]

It got me to thinking over the historical development of the thing. How long have jet packs been around in some shape or form?

Didn't one feature in a Bond movie? And I have a vague (and probably totally false memory?!) of one performing at a Superbowl.

But this appears to show that the technology has matured beyond the "Blue Peter / Tomorrow's World 'What we'll all be driving in the future!' story item"  into an actual usable mode of transport?

[scooter]

I hope it's proven to work. The additional applications could be amazing. Think of flying up to a balcony on a high rise building instead of trudging up stairs or waiting for an elevator!

Dunno...I've worked with some EMTs I wouldn't trust with an ambulance, let alone a jetpack

[Rheged]

I hope it's proven to work. The additional applications could be amazing. Think of flying up to a balcony on a high rise building instead of trudging up stairs or waiting for an elevator!

Dunno...I've worked with some EMTs I wouldn't trust with an ambulance, let alone a jetpack

True,  I've been out with  mountain rescue volunteers some of whom I wouldn't trust with a child's shovel in a sandpit.   On the other hand, the air ambulance staff  I know are totally reliable; both the flight crew and the paramedics.

[Dizzyfugu]

Didn't one feature in a Bond movie? And I have a vague (and probably totally false memory?!) of one performing at a Superbowl.

Goldfinger, IIRC?

[Weaver]

Reality:

Save 20 minutes on the flight after driving for an hour to get near enough then taking an hour to put the suit on, then set fire to the casualty with the exhaust before giving him one of the two Asprins that are all you can carry, and then crash on the way back and need rescue yourself. All assuming that the weather's good enough for you to fly in the first place, of course...

Joking of course, but I do wonder how many times this can actually be used:

It can't carry much gear
It can't fly very far
It can't recover the casualty
I presume that it has wind/weather limits
It very possibly can't fly at night and certainly not in restricted visibility (mist/fog is not exactly unknown in the mountains)

So it only applies to a limited number of rescues, many of which would have had the same outcome without it. But on the other hand, there's that handful of cases where it might make all the difference...

[Dizzyfugu]

I'd also have serious doubts about operating such a device in a rough region (mountains, forest, urban) in anything else than calm air (at best). Nice PR gag, but I can hardly see any practical benefit?

[Weaver]

Flight time = 8 minutes
Speed = 'over 60km/h' (37.3mph)

So if the real speed is somewhere between 40mph and 60mph, then it's range is somewhere between 5.5 and 8 miles (one way). That doesn't account for climbing, of course (can't find a climb rate).


Maximum pilot weight = 85kg (13st or 188lb)

That means I couldn't fly it if I was stark naked, let alone carrying any medical equipment or supplies. Apparently the average body weight in Europe is 155lb, so that person could carry 33lb of equipment. Now that's the average for the whole population: wonder how much the average mountain rescue volunteer weighs?


Jetpack specs: https://gravity.co/stem/
Av. body weight: https://www.theaveragebody.com/average-weight-for-men-and-women/

[Weaver]

Rough stab at climb rate.

It's not clear his exact route, but articles state he flew from 'Langdale valley bottom' to 'The Band, near Bowfell' in 90 seconds. Unfortunately, Langdale is big and The Band is a path, not a point, but making some generous assumptions, I reckon he ascended 1775 ft. That's a climb rate of 1184 ft/min, so given his 8 minute endurance, his vertical range (one way) on a similar ascent is somewhere around 9500 ft. Horizontal travel during the ascent was about 1.5 miles, so that gives a climb angle of about 13 deg.


Route info: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/awesome-jetpack-paramedic-suit-could-19019648
Elevations from here: https://www.plotaroute.com/routeplanner

[zenrat]

It got me to thinking over the historical development of the thing. How long have jet packs been around in some shape or form?

Didn't one feature in a Bond movie? And I have a vague (and probably totally false memory?!) of one performing at a Superbowl.

But this appears to show that the technology has matured beyond the "Blue Peter / Tomorrow's World 'What we'll all be driving in the future!' story item"  into an actual usable mode of transport?

Don't know about Superbowls but there was one at the opening of the LA Olympics in '84.

[Knightflyer]

It got me to thinking over the historical development of the thing. How long have jet packs been around in some shape or form?

Didn't one feature in a Bond movie? And I have a vague (and probably totally false memory?!) of one performing at a Superbowl.

But this appears to show that the technology has matured beyond the "Blue Peter / Tomorrow's World 'What we'll all be driving in the future!' story item"  into an actual usable mode of transport?

Don't know about Superbowls but there was one at the opening of the LA Olympics in '84.

Thanks Zenrat ....that was probably it .....a large US sporting event..... that's close enough for my memory! 

[Hobbes]

It got me to thinking over the historical development of the thing. How long have jet packs been around in some shape or form?

Didn't one feature in a Bond movie? And I have a vague (and probably totally false memory?!) of one performing at a Superbowl.

But this appears to show that the technology has matured beyond the "Blue Peter / Tomorrow's World 'What we'll all be driving in the future!' story item"  into an actual usable mode of transport?

Those early models used hypergolic rocket engines. They worked, but had a very short flight time (90 seconds for the Bond movie one, IIRC) and used very dangerous fuels.

They've progressed to the point where jet engines can be used instead of a rocket, with much better range and safety.

[Mossie]

Flight time = 8 minutes
Speed = 'over 60km/h' (37.3mph)

So if the real speed is somewhere between 40mph and 60mph, then it's range is somewhere between 5.5 and 8 miles (one way). That doesn't account for climbing, of course (can't find a climb rate).


Maximum pilot weight = 85kg (13st or 188lb)

That means I couldn't fly it if I was stark naked, let alone carrying any medical equipment or supplies. Apparently the average body weight in Europe is 155lb, so that person could carry 33lb of equipment. Now that's the average for the whole population: wonder how much the average mountain rescue volunteer weighs?


Jetpack specs: https://gravity.co/stem/
Av. body weight: https://www.theaveragebody.com/average-weight-for-men-and-women/

They're not meant for the average person.  You also have to be very strong to control the jets, the inventor, Richard Browning is ex RM and a calisthenics instructor.  I watched an interviewer that suggested it could revolutionise transport and Browning didn't think it would, having specific training and fitness needs.

I would think it would be meant for all team members, more the mountain equivalent of the motorbike paramedic.  A single operator with minimal equipment to get to the casualty quick, and evaluate the situation  before the cavalry arrives.