Avcen Jetpod inventor killed in test flight crash
By Vlad Savov 
posted August 17th 2009 6:31AM
posted August 17th 2009 6:31AM
posted August 17th 2009 6:31AM
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there was no "eject" button? design flaw much?
Insensitive jerk much?
Besides, if it's "spiralling towards the ground" ejecting's going to either fire you head-first into the dirt at high speed or send you on an unpredictable trajectory at high speed, bringing with it all kinds of dangers (angular momentum ftw)
Perhaps there was, but if you're "spiralling out of control" and you pull the trigger whilst upside down, it doesn't bear thinking about...
Also bear in mind commercial airliners do not have ejector seats, and noone considers that a design flaw...
@charax
not if you have a parachute...
We often say very mean jokes here, but that's over the top mate.
I'm sure his idea will long live and encouragement to other challengers.
Seriously, man, you need to learn some tact.
Nice fail, asswipe.
@zomgimmark: Having both your posts get "Lowest Ranked" says otherwise.
Mr. Dacre's death is a terrible tragedy. This is, unfortunately, the kind of risk many inventors must take — sometimes when you push the envelope of technology, the envelope pushes back.
Realistically speaking, military prototypes have ejection seats, commercial prototypes rarely do.
Not a design flaw.
poor fella
Damn, thats harsh, getting killed in your own invention.
@Angry_Commenter: ''Live like a nub, you die like a nub. Now the wifey will cash in on his life policy and go away with the 10-year younger guy next door. I love cougars.''
tsk tsk tsk, wanna hear you say something like this when its someone from your family. Or are you the black sheep bastard of the family?
RIP :(
RIP, Michael...
@emu76
but it actually makes sense for a commercial airliner that was tested thousands of times not to have eject seats but, this was a PROTOTYPE.... it just makes sense to have a backup plan.
And where did you get the information that it didn't have an eject seat from? Sources pls?
The plane got to roughly 200 meters above ground before falling. Even if he was the eject at the top of that, it would have been one hell of a rough landing. And given that you have to factor in reaction time, and circumstantial positioning, it could have theoretically been useless anyway.
@ zomgimmark
Seriously do you have any idea what goes into an ejection seat, how much they weigh and all that? Never mind that the only prototypes that do have them are military. Another thing if it was spiraling the G forces alone can keep you from pulling the lever. You are an idiot learn about something before making a comment about it.
Maybe Moller's hairy hand cut some wires. Or he actually didn't die and it's just an investment/insurance scam.
@zomgimmark
Dude, this is worse than trolling.
Rest in Peace Michael Robert Dacre.
That's why we have to remember the fallen for every advancement we make.
"Being incredibly morbid in an Engadget comments section makes me cool"
Seriously, do any of you have a shred of decency? A man has died.
I'm glad you're not an inventor, Angry_Commenter. If inventors just stuck to thought exercises (which is what computer simulations basically are), then we'd still be in the Stone Age.
Besides, who said he didn't use computer simulation? He had to have used a computer at some point during the design process, but there's only so far simulation can take you. That's why pilots are handed their license only after flying an actual airplane — a computer simulation cannot compare to the real thing. Same goes for inventors — despite all the simulations, you'd have to build a prototype eventually.
It's not a jetpack.........
Yes, he knew the risks and he still took it. Because that's what inventors do: they take risks because they feel it's worth taking. When the Wright Brothers tried to create a flying machine, people knew it was stupid. They did it anyway and the rest is history.
If it wasn't for people like him we'd still be living in caves. RIP.
Was he texting at the time?
"Jetpod Flying TAXI"
What good is it when the taxi driver (pilot in this case) ejects leaving the passangers to crash and die?
Ejector seats would be useless as having them so close together would add weight and be dangerous as each time they eject from such a small aircraft at low altitude the plane would lose weight and shift or barrel roll, making it more dangerous for the passengers still on-board to eject
The safer option would be airbags lol
Engadget; PLEASE rid us of these morons: Angry_Commenter and zomgimmark
It's just wrong. Just plain wrong.
Obvious trolls are obvious. They feed off of stirred emotions, thats why they keep coming back.
There are extensions for firefox to selectively remove certain user's comments, I know there's scripts for greasemonkey but I think they are even stand-alone ones.
To quote from the description of one:
Script Summary:
Hide all comments from pointless users "Zak", "iEye", "Paul A Chapel" and "Flashpoint" on Engadget.
Version: 0.2.1
Why do you guys continue to acknowledge idiotic comments? The best thing you can do is not respond and simply vote the comment down.
RIP, i hope his work lives on :(
What did the jetpod look like before the crash?
Well the closest approximation in the links would be http://www.flickr.com/photos/avi_abrams/1465840997/sizes/o/
But I'm not sure.
You know flying cabs might in some way sound cool, but when I think about how cabs drive, and how annoying it would be to have the noise, and have them fly rounds your window, then frankly I don't think the plan is that great, and in fact if it was available people would stand up and demand it would fly outside urban areas.
Even though they put the term 'very quiet' in the design, but how quiet can it be really? Especially when in open air where the sound travels far.
Considering commercial airliners have their fatal accidents too, its pointless to say an ejector seat would have been a worthwhile addition. Especially as the intended area of use is low level flight; an ejection seat would be totally insane.
I'm going to reply here, but this is also directed at some of the other people mentioning low altitude as well. Some military aircraft have zero/zero ejection seats, which would not be bothered by the low altitude, and (as much as I can tell with basically no information about circumstances) would have had at least 50% chance of saving the guy's life.
That said, since the production model certainly wouldn't have an ejection seat, it's quite understandable that the prototype (intending as, well, a *prototype*) wouldn't magically be redesigned for one, and only a fool would cram one in an airframe not designed for it. I think you probably got that, but some don't, and I'd rather respond here than in one of the troll-induced pile-ups. ;)
Yes, for information only (not in any way supporting any trolling) zero/zero ejection seats are designed to allow ejection (in relative safety still !! ) at zero speed and zero altitude. They can even eject with the plane upside down at a few tens of meters from the ground and will manage to turn during ejection and fly upward. But as you can imagine such system are big, bulky, extremely expensive, include explosive and small rockets ... they are military hardware and therefore probably not available for private civilian use and in any way not suited for a small light prototypes.
Rest in peace Michael ...
Some ejection seats such as the ACESII can safely eject a person from 0mph, 0 ft. It takes around 40 pounds of lift to pull the ejection control lever, but this isn't multiplied by g forces because the resistance is kept by a spring and not a weight. The seat itself weighs about 200 pounds, the rails and cockpit explosives another 70 or so. With a little engineering know how it wouldn't be that hard to rig up an ACESII provided you could buy one from the manufacturer for around $200,000 at the inflated DOD price. I have been told that there are Russian designs that are even better than the ACESII, which may be a little cheaper given the state of Russia's military.
Maybe he should have done his calculations instead of slapping pieces of metal together and adding to jet engines hoping it would fly.
Sticking with the topic: a T-tail configuration is prone to disrupted airflow with a wing that a placed on-top of the fuselage in situation with high-angle of attack, which would make the plane virtually uncontrollable (save for the ailerons). There are quite a few examples where such a designs required changes after the first flight. If the witness said ‘it shot up’ ... possibly this resulted in uncontrolled flight with limited use of the stabilizers. Let’s wait and see of the incident report says.
xabra is 100% correct. That design looks like a prime candidate for stalling at high angles of attack, and further, seems as if the aspect ratio of the wings is too low.
I feel sorry for the guy, but aeronautics does not suffer fools gladly.
Its men like these that drive technology and innovation they are putting their lives on the line so that the rest of us get a better world, even in ways that are not immediately obvious. RIP sir, from those of us who understand and appreciate innovation and the risks involved, we salute you
Well at least he died doing what he love. I salute thee Michael. :)
If this sets the release back, maybe we'll make past 2012?
I am the niece of Mike Dacre, and I would just like to add how disgusted I am with some peoples comments on this page!
This man was my uncle, and if you knew the devistation this accident has caused across our family!
How dare you be so cold towards someone just trying to make a difference... I am sure it is more than most of you have done, and will ever do in your lifetime.
Have some respect to the people who do not fail, but merely take risks everday, to make your life easier and more convienient... which is the sacrifice my uncle made.
This is someones brother, uncle and fathers life you are finding comical and you should be ashamed of yourselves.
I would also like to thank all of you who have paid tributes to Mike Dacre over the past 24 hours.
All my love Uncle Mike!
Dear Samantha,
I knew your uncle as well...He was a great human being who had a dream and a vision for a better tomorrow for all of us and the next generations to come...I respect and admire him...He was my HERO...He had a dream and he set out to achieve it...He was very very brave and honourable in doing what he set out to do...
I am so sorry for your loss and wish that he rests in peace...
I love to read the posts on Engadget, but I almost never post comments/respond to comments due to the frequently shameful content I see in response to stories like this one. I figure the folks who have nothing better to do than to disrespect a man's untimely death on a blog posting are likely miserable human beings with pathetic lives anyway (when was the last time any of THEM invented anything?!), and I just don't see how anything productive can come out of engaging them when they make such ridiculous/stupid/insensitive statements.
That being said, I'm observing a moment of silence today in honor of your uncle. I have absolutely no connection with him personally or with his enterprise, but I understand and greatly respect the "type" of person he was. Quite simply, if it were not for folks like your uncle, we would all be living in pre-industrial conditions with much, much lower quality of life (and longevity). Individuals like your uncle have an incredible amount of audacity: it takes audacity not only to think/dream of inventions such as your uncle's air taxi (a smart, innovative idea) in the first place, but also to maintain focus and optomism in the face of skeptical critics; it requires audacity to take actual steps to make the dream a reality, especially in terms of gaining the help and support of others; finally, it takes an incredible amount of audacity to step into the realm of the unknown and actually put one's ideas to a "real world" test. There is no way to shortchange this process, and it requires brave, confident, risk-taking individuals who believe their ideals are "bigger" than themselves as individuals; this is a rare breed of human, but our world absolutely needs them.
I'm truly sorry for the loss to your family. Please understand that there are plenty of us out here who respect what he (and people like him) do, and we understand that they have had a HUGE influence on everything available to us today that leads to the high quality of life that is now available. Take comfort and pride in knowing that he was a true visionary and pioneer, and that he gave his life in pursuit of goals and objectives that he firmly believed in (you are absolutely correct in calling this a "sacrifice"). I cannot think of a better type of person for young people to look to as role models, and he will undoubtedly have a positive impact in this regard also.
Your uncle made a real impact in his field!