SoloTrek XFV
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The SoloTrek XFV (Exo-skeletal Flying Vehicle) was a single-person VTOL aircraft. It was flown in late October 2000 by NASA, and until 2003, the design was being developed by Millennium Jet Inc, a private company run by Michael Moshier. The SoloTrek had one seat and was propelled by two ducted fans located above and on either side of the user, leading some to class it as a type of backpack helicopter. It runs for around 2 hours on kerosene fuel. According to Michael Moshier, SoloTrek was capable of hovering for up to three hours, flying at 100km/h and travelling more than 200km.[1]
One such model is flown in the movie Agent Cody Banks, though only with the aid of special effects.
SoloTrek remains an extremely unusual design; to apply the name 'jetpack' is incorrect; the pilot was strapped into the exoskeleton frame which took the weight of the machine whilst landed, though it performed the same aim. In numerous trials at NASA's Ames Research Centre in California, the machine "appeared to perform perfectly".[2]
During these flights, and for obvious safety reasons, the SoloTrek was 'tethered' to a sort of crane during test flights, to prevent uncontrolled ascent or travel. The tethers were designed to retract during lift-off to avoid being sucked into the exposed ducted fans at the top of the machine, but during a flight shortly after a rain shower in 2002, the tether failed to retract and became tangled in the propeller blades, which duly disintegrated. Pilot and machine dropped to the ground, but whilst the pilot walked away unharmed, SoloTrek would not be so lucky. Unable to stick to the tight development that its backers demanded, Millennium Jet lost funding, forcing closure in 2003.
The technology now seems to be owned by Trek Aerospace, who are also developing smaller UAVs using the same principles.
