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Electric Backpack Helicopter Takes Its First Manned Flight in Australia

It’s not a bird, it’s not a plane, it’s an electric backpack helicopter that just had its first manned flight. The CopterPack’s grandiose demonstration took place in Australia.
CopterPack 1 photo
Photo: CopterPack/YouTube
This weird-looking manned drone has only two huge rotors that have approximately three feet (90 cm) in diameter. As explained on the CopterPack website, the airframe is light and made of carbon fiber honeycomb.

Overall, the vehicle looks kind of bulky yet controllable and stable enough to dare lift it off the ground. In the YouTube video, its pilot takes off from a hill near the shore and gets to an impressive height over the beach.

The entire demonstration doesn’t take too long, and the most logical explanation is the battery pack which doesn’t look too big. It is also probably why the two rotors have those large fans, to solve the energy storage issue because they lift the vehicle way faster than smaller rotors.

We are still waiting for further details on this cool-looking invention and its plans, hoping that we can see it in production as soon as possible.

These flying backpacks are no longer a utopia, but the fact that the CopterPack is electric instead of running on kerosene is indeed an interesting and greener achievement.

We’ve also recently seen the Royal Navy soldiers toying around with Gravity Industries’ jet engine-powered suit that uses over 1,000 hp of thrust and reaches 37 mph (60 kph).

Then there’s also British inventor Richard Browning, who’s also the founder of jetpack manufacturer Gravity Industries, and who recently made the Guinness World Records with his triathlon in a jet suit. His gravity-defying device helped him break Usain Bolt’s 9.58 seconds record in a 100-meter challenge, with Browning achieving 7.69 seconds and flying at a speed of 35 mph (56 kph).

Richard also broke the world record for the fastest 400 meters hurdles in a body controlled jet engine-powered suit, with 42.06 seconds.

His third challenge was to fly 40 meters (131 ft) up to a pole, then climb up to six meters (19.6 ft), and land on a mat, all of these in just 15 seconds. He beat this record too, with a result of 13.09 seconds.

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About the author: Cristina Mircea
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Cristina’s always found writing more comfortable to do than speaking, which is why she chose print over broadcast media in college. When she’s not typing, she also loves riding non-motorized two-wheelers, going on hikes with her dog, and rocking her electric guitars.
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