NASA's Puffin is the latest personal flying machine that will never be produced (video)
By Tim Stevens 
posted January 21st 2010 8:57AM
posted January 21st 2010 8:57AM
posted January 21st 2010 8:57AM
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Whats the point of posting this, if it's never going to be produced? I feel like I'm reading popular science.
@jdmbo1 Dream crusher.
@jdmbo1
They said the primary reason was battery packs. We're making breakthroughs in that area everyday so who know if this'll come back around 10 years from now.
@jdmbo1
Agreed.. though think of all the problems.
No more traffic jams!
Faster ambulance response (see above)
Faster police response (see above)
Faster travel
Um... ok, I'm drawing a blank here...
1:52 Looks like a giant chicken.
@PlatinumSkeet I think the primary reason we'll never get these will be idiots flying close to buildings and possibly into buildings... damn people ruin it for everyone :(
Wouldnt it get uncomfortable to lay flat on ur stomach and strain your neck looking forward after a while??
@PlatinumSkeet I think you guys at Engadget need your eyes checked. Look at the rendering video and you can see that there is room for 4 D cell batteries in each engine. Daaaa!
@canny
Plus with no lane lines imagine all the id-air collisions
Plus COPS in mid-air
@Arun Balan
No way, its just like first class... you can lie down properly, for a good nights sleep.
@Arun Balan
There is a chin rest, as can be seen when the guy's flying over the city. Funny no one else noticed it.
Soon to appear in a bond movie, with epic action packed chase sequence around a bustling metropolis.
@Oflife : I'm just wondering how it will land without turning into a huge fireball of death and propeller parts?
This is simply frustrating.
When NASA spends taxpayer dollars on pie in the sky projects like this... they lose all credibility when they cry poor for real projects. I realize they, most likely, did not spend all that much money on this project, but it is still money that could have been spent on a more practical project.
@mitchellpgh What is a practical project? This research might end up producing the batteries that end up in the next batch of electric-cars, or it could be a hydrogen-fuel-cell. I agree that this might (probably won't) come to commercial fruition as a whole but elements of it might be invaluable in the future.
@mitchellpgh
* Every * research institution encounters this same question. Since the end result is to drive the state-of-the-art forward, there needs to be room for fostering creativity. At the forward end of a research program are programs designed to generate a vision of what capabilities the institution would like to create. These use minimal budget but allow maximum freedom to brainstorm. The result isn't a practical solution right off the bat, but rather a strawman that reveals what pieces are missing in order to achieve the vision. This, then, allows direction-setting to eventually create those capabilities. As ideas begin to become commericially viable and enter the development stage, the budget steps up.
So, there's a continuum, ranging from very forward-looking, imaginitive brainstorming with smaller budget and less care put toward refinement (too early ... would stifle creativity) all the way toward the short-term, concrete, almost-ready-for-production ideas that consume the largest portion of the budget (it costs a lot to tool up for making a product).
As long as there's a focus to keep the process from going off in all different random directions, this strategy has proven remarkably effective.
Where, exactly, is NASA going to get the money for this? They had better hurry off to Pandora and score some unobtainium.
@nihilmatters I think FedEx is going to foot the bill. Watch the video.
@rjackso1
Awesome...missed that!
I think it would have been way cooler if you had to put your arms inside the wings...
Oh, and why do the air exhausts look like usb sockets?
@shamael pew pew pew
@Atkins the smart suicide-bomb
I'm not sure I'd want to get into that. Claustrophobia is bad enough, imagine it when you are flying at 1000 ft. I'd like to think that I could handle a terrestrial vehicle that is that small, but there is no pulling over to stretch your legs when flying.
@(Unverified) Plus the fact that anyone who has gone headfirst down a hill on a sled and crashed knows this configuration is not a good idea.
@unzarjones just the idea of keeping my neck in that position for any length of time is painful.
Never be produced? Really? This is how Goldman Sachs' CEO gets to work! I seens it!
AWESOME !!
It's a concept, guys... Just a concept... Maybe a platform to test high efficiency electric motors and rotor systems, might make an interesting UAV concept that can fly fast then hover for detailed examination of an area.
Regardless, it's concept sketches turned into a 3D concept animation. I don't understand how people complain about NASA wasting their money on concepts. Big auto companies spend millions to produce never-to-be-produced concept cars JUST for trade shows... But on occasion, those bizarre or impractical designs end up providing a nugget or two of true innovation into the automotive marketplace.
@Vrmithrax "It's a concept, guys... Just a concept..."
That's right, somebody has to throw the technical artists a bone now and then. We wouldn't want them to starve, penniless, or even worse, they might have to take a job at Dell.
@Vrmithrax It's not just a concept. At the end of the source article:
"By March, the researchers plan on finishing a one third–size, hover-capable Puffin demonstrator, and in the three months following that they will begin investigating how well it transitions from cruise to hover flight."
@TimStevens That's exactly what a concept is.
You are horizontal on your stomach once you are in the air, beside the awkward downward view it' not very convenient position.
@Ahmed Alzayani
The first Jets had a similar superman position. See Gloster Meteor. The position is fine as long as you do not need to eject...
What an idiotic concept. Did you see how you would have to fit in there? If you had to stay in the position for longer than two minutes your upper back and neck would be killing you. I am all for thinking outside the box and pushing boundaries but lets be ergonomic at least.
well one thing's for sure the designer is not a pilot ...
Imagine farting in this thing.
@(Unverified)
To power the device?
@(Unverified) After reading the intelligent, and lesser intelligent remarks and arguments on this page, I came upon your comment. Being a guy, of course I chuckled at first, then, I seriously considered the comment and wondered if they had considered ventilation in the cockpit, THEN I visualized the poor guy in the cockpit having to deal with this dilemma, and then, I laughed my ass off. Thank you for your comment.
@(Unverified) To be clear, I had no intention of pointing out a design flaw or even suggesting alternative forms of fuel. I just want people, men rather, to imagine farting in it. Imagine.
@(Unverified)
Hopefully they have a charcoal filter system.
But there needs to be some type of air exchange system. Carrying enough oxygen would be cost & weight prohibitive. It wouldn't need to be pressurized if it can't fly over 12,000 ft (14,000?). That would add a lot of weight and problems as well.
@(Unverified)
"I just want people, men rather, to imagine farting in it."
Actually, I think women can relate too. How many times have you held down the covers to prevent her escape?
looks like someone has been watchng Babylon 5 recently, the design is similar to the Minbari flyers
@LSG501
Incorrect, nobody watches Babylon 5
@JPeak Babylon 5 is fantastic.
@JPeak B5 - one of the greatest sci-fi series ever.
I'm an 80s kid, this immediately reminded me of Centurions.
http://www.dukenostalgia.com/Centurions/Pictures/Ace/skyboltboxart.JPG
The term "military brat" refers to the children of people serving in a military, not the service members themselves.
@Funke Tobias Dr Not necessarily. Although your comment is true in one respect, I believe they are referring to the military being spoiled like a brat in that they get everything cool, and we're not allowed to play with their toys, only them, that type of bratty behavior.
@rnag04
Well that's exactly what the author should've said, instead of attempting to use a term that obviously isn't within their command.
My neck hurts just looking at it.