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On this episode of MythBusters, the Widowmaker, could you build a jet pack from plans on the

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Internet?

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I'm ready to go, man!

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Adam and Janie rise to the challenge of their toughest ever myth.

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I want MythBusters done!

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And the build team suffers for science in the myth of pyramid power.

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Baby, give us a kiss.

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Who are the MythBusters?

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Is my missing an eyebrow?

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Adam Savage

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I reject the reality and substitute my own.

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And Jamie Heineman

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Quack, damn you.

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I wouldn't say Jamie's an evil genius.

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Between them more than 30 years special effects experience.

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We're either going to die or we're going to fly.

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They don't just tell the myths, they put them to the test.

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Adam, we've got a really great story here.

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This is just the kind of thing that I love.

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This is a really difficult technical challenge.

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It's an engineering feat we've got to pull off here.

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Absolutely.

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We have purchased some plans off the web that anybody could buy for under 100 bucks.

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And we're going to see if we can use those plans to build in our shop a personal, functional jet pack.

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And of course we only have what?

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About 10,000 bucks in a month?

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Well, it wouldn't be MythBusters without that kind of crunch, would it?

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The quest to build a personal flying machine is as old as aviation itself.

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It's my strong conviction that by utilizing these inner universal forces, we shall all be able to fly like the birds.

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The MythBusters are well qualified to join a procession of daredevil inventors hell bent on avoiding traffic jams.

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That's how it is, it can be done.

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The track record isn't exactly encouraging.

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So is the idea of a homemade jet pack just a dream?

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So what are we going to build here exactly?

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What do the plans say our jet pack looks like?

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Well, I don't see any jet engines anywhere on this thing.

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What I see is a gas engine goes in the middle of your back and a couple of propellers inside some ducts.

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So it's more of a vertical take off helicopter ducted fan housing kind of thing?

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Yeah, it's smaller than a helicopter. It's something you could carry around, but that's the gist of it.

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But it ain't no jet?

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No jet.

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It's actually a backpack powered by a 60 horsepower engine which drives two ducted fans.

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The cowlings create lift and thrust and according to the designers should be able to carry a 200 pound pilot.

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The plans are less than comprehensive so it's a case of join the dots and fill in the gaps.

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That's the funky thing about these plans. They do whatever the hell you want and you're going to be flying around like crazy.

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It's great. You'll go up 50 miles an hour.

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With limited time and budget, Adam and Jamie will need all the help they can get so the MythMusters support team swings into gear.

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I have a question about the Rotax 503 engine.

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Jamie talks to aviation experts about the components specced in the plans.

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Do you know of anybody that has followed these plans then that has actually flown?

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Oh yeah, it'd be extremely dangerous.

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Then he crunches some numbers and comes up with a verdict.

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I'm actually encouraged that based on the considerable poking around that I've done with all of the major components, it is theoretically possible that this could work.

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Can you see Jamie like this?

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To their knowledge, nobody has ever flown a jet pack like this one.

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So Adam and Jamie hit the road to find out about some that have got airborne.

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They're meeting Nino Amarino, an expert in rocket packs.

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Wow. Is this a jet pack?

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No, it's actually a rocket pack. This actually uses rocket fuel and rocket engines.

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The actual engine is on top and these are the nozzles on each side.

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Well, it seems like a pretty simple unit as far as that goes.

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I mean, I'm sure there's more than meets the eye here, but what's the biggest difficulty about actually making this practical?

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Well, it looks simple at first sight, although there have been over 100 people have tried and all of them have failed.

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The first attempts to build modern rocket packs began in the 1950s and met with about as much success as the efforts earlier in the century.

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But the possibility of airborne infantry was enough to attract military dollars.

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The breakthrough came in 1961 with a device designed by Wendell Moore of Bell Aerosystems.

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As the operating envelope was extended, the rocket pack reached altitudes of 60 feet and speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.

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But it was too noisy so the military pulled the plug on the project.

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Everybody seems to be working at some feverish pits to develop a personal flying device, you know, that everyone could be flying.

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This is some sort of utopian dream. Why do you think that is?

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Well, actually, the main reason why it is something that everybody wants to build is because of all the flying devices that men has built,

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this is the only one that the regular Joe in the streets has not been able to duplicate yet.

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Well, I tell you, I can understand why this is such a seductive idea to people because, you know, it's like, okay, I'm ready to go to work, honey, I'll see you later, you know.

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When Jamie grows up, he wants to be a rocket man.

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I've never seen Jamie so happy in my life.

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Fired up by the rocket pack, Adam and Jamie hit the scrap yards to search out raw materials for their own flying machine.

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Look at these! Oh my God, this is great!

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This is the average American six months supply of soda power.

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The towers of twisted metal loosen some of Adam's screws.

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Right, well, I mean, this piece behind me, I call it the A-fist II.

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And I mean, it's really about how confusing, you know, society is because, you know, it's all a jumble, isn't it?

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In the world of scrap, Adam and Jamie are pinups, and they're mobbed by fellow enthusiasts.

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So what are we building? We're building a jet pack. Personal jet pack.

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Oh, we're either going to die or we're going to fly.

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Well, let's hope you fly.

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They're looking for aluminum, the plans recommended as light, tough, and perfect for aircraft.

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There's a machine a whole wing out of that.

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It's funny what gets us excited, isn't it? I don't think I've ever seen a solid jet of aluminum that big.

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It's the second biggest piece of aluminum I've ever seen.

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It just, like, gets me all worked up just looking at it.

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After the obligatory drooling, the guys get down to the job at hand and come away happy shoppers.

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I can't take Jamie and I to a place like this and have us just leave with what we came for.

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This big plate of 16th inch aluminum is going to be most of the structure on the backpack.

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This angle iron is going to be some of the cross structure along with the arms for actually steering and controlling.

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It's all really fantastically useful stuff and I love working with aluminum.

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It's hilarious from the sun.

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I love aluminum.

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Aluminum? I love you.

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Myth number two comes from ancient Egypt and involves a magical mathematical formula.

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According to some, the pyramids incorporate a sacred geometry which help to preserve the mummified remains of the pharaohs.

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Furthermore, they claim that this mystical math can work modern miracles like keep fruit fresh or razor blade sharp.

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Apparently, they can even reinvigorate an overworked myth buster.

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You know, normally we try and stay away from some of the oogie boogie myths but it's time to go attack pyramid power.

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It is reputed to do everything from keep your razors sharp to keeping your milk and fruit fresh.

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And I think you too are the perfect people to take this test and see what we can do with it.

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Well as a true scientist, you do have to walk in with an open mind without any preconceived notions and put it to a very rigorous testing.

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You're going to have to build a whole bunch of pyramids in a very short period of time.

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Alright, I'm going to go back to sleep.

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Ready, Knight?

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So can the build team crack this cosmic code?

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Where is that formula?

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First, they must erect their own pyramids by following the instructions of new age myth mongers.

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That doesn't make sense.

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It's all as clear as mud so they decide to seek enlightenment from someone who walks the walk.

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True believer, Jerry Tomlinson.

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Okay Jerry, so you're our self-proclaimed pyramid freak?

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We got lots of questions.

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So you're totally convinced that there is power with these pyramids?

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Oh yeah. A guy in Czechoslovakia patented the Cheops razor blade sharpener.

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And he put razor blades on it and they would dull razor blades and they would be sharper, you know.

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And I tried it once, I didn't know if it was about a week and it seemed to be sharper.

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Not that convincing, eh, Tari?

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Do you think that the materials of the pyramid are made from have any effect on the experiment?

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Uh, well, copper is a real cool metal.

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But I'm supposed to work, yeah, maybe.

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So I thought...

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Oh no, excuse me, no, no, no, no, I've been told that that's not true.

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Because you can do it just the shape is a...

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Maybe what you use has some effect, but I think it's primarily the shape.

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The build team leaves Jerry a little older, but none the wiser.

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Look you guys, we just got our mail order pyramid.

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Is this the one that's supposed to sharpen razor blades?

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This is the one.

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Wait a minute.

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I think we've been had.

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How much did we pay for this?

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38 bucks, I think we're the suckers.

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Back at the shop, there's been a delivery, but if it does keep fruit fresh and razor sharp,

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38 bucks is money well spent.

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While apparently the material doesn't affect the pyramid's power, the dimensions do.

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For maximum potency, the model must be an exact scale of Egypt's golden pyramid.

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And this one, well, looks a little wonky.

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I mean, here's our pyramid.

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Do you feel any power?

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Come here.

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Don't point it at me.

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Don't aim it at me.

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Come here.

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Let's put it over your head.

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Do you feel light headed?

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I'm reading your thoughts right now.

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And Tari's thinking that pyramid power could be a long way off.

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They're on the trail of an ultralight engine at California Power Systems.

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What can I do for you guys?

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Looking for a Rotex 503 dual-car.

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I understand you have one in stock.

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Can we have a look at it?

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Sure, I can bring one out here.

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This is the one specced in the plans, but Mike suggests a lighter and more powerful alternative,

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the water-cooled Rotex 583.

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I can't see how this possibly couldn't push you off the ground.

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It has that much power.

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Wow.

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That's what we want.

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That's what we want to hear.

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It's not the exact engine specified in the plans, but it's close enough.

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Any reasonable person with the doe would go for the Rotex 583.

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I mean, it's just a lot more power for just about the same weight, actually a little bit less,

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and every pound counts.

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And the truck of this car is our chance for immortality.

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That thing has about as much horsepower as this van does.

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It's not going to be like strapping an automobile engine on your back.

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Let's get back to the shop.

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Let's make this sucker.

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Back at M5, the build begins, and right from the get-go, Jamie's fired up.

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This is exactly the kind of project that really motivates me personally,

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so I'm going to be losing some sleep over this one.

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Starting to look like an aircraft part.

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All right, ladies and gentlemen, here we go.

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While Jamie works on the main structure of the backpack, Adam starts on the cowlings.

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Without them, the thrust generated by the propellers is dispersed.

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When the cowlings are added, the thrust is concentrated.

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They also create suction around their top edge, causing lift, like an airplane's wing.

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But the ducts only work if the clearance between propeller tips and cowling is less than 1 1 1⁄16".

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According to the plans, the ducted fans should provide 500 lbs of thrust,

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more than enough to get Jamie airborne.

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Adam carefully cuts thin layers of roofing foam, which stack together igloo fashion,

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to form the basic body of the cowling.

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This appeals to both Jamie and I in a very sort of deep, deep core level of interest for us.

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It is exactly the kind of thing that, you know, once we did the research,

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and no one's actually really flown one of these things that we can find,

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it would be amazing if we actually were able to build one to fly.

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The cowling design seems solid enough,

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but Jamie's finding that the plans for the main body of the backpack have as many holes as the average tea bag.

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There's stuff, the basic thing that's going on here is maybe not that wacky,

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but when I get into the details, it's like, idiotic.

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They call for the 90-pound engine to be bolted straight onto a wafer-thin aluminum sheet.

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And this thing's just socked right in the middle of this 16-inch sheet.

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And the engine's on there.

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A 62-horsepower engine.

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Mounted on 16-inch aluminum.

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I'm not going to get near it with it operating.

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I mean, I'm not going to, there's no way in hell I'm going to get in this thing.

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I mean, it's terrifying.

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The guys have got mixed feelings about the plans,

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which are a cocktail of the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.

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It's like frustrating and almost disgusting how poor these plans are.

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And yet the stuff that he's kind of coming up with isn't all that bad.

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While at first glance they seem easily like the work of a crazy person,

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it all seems, I mean, sort of crazily plausible that it could fly,

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but again, the devil is in the details.

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In the interests of safety, Jamie adds a plate to strengthen the engine mounts.

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Then he blocks out the basic structure of the backpack.

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That looks like it ought to make sense.

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The propellers arrive, specially made by a hovercraft manufacturer.

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Hard to imagine these two picking you up off the ground, huh?

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It's going to be like, I think that's about what it is.

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Yeah.

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Okay, well, onward to network.

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Despite their misgivings, it's not necessarily a case of pigs might fly.

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Based on the initial number crunching that I've done, this thing could actually fly.

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And, you know, the fact that we haven't actually seen anybody flying with it is sort of like,

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what's going on here?

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Are we going to like be the first ones?

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The build team is testing the myth that pyramids have strange powers of preservation.

226
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They'll build four scale models in which they'll place some milk, half an apple, half a razor, and half a flower.

227
00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:34,000
The other halves, the controls, will sit outside the pyramids.

228
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:43,000
According to the myth, their models must have pyramid perfect dimensions to ensure any cosmic power is cranked up to the maths.

229
00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,000
It's a worry, it is going to be a golden pyramid.

230
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:53,000
And apparently for the sharpest razors and freshest fruit, the pyramids must align with magnetic north.

231
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:58,000
The build team really is doing all they can to test this loopy legend.

232
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:01,000
Should we cut these flowers off, put one in and one out?

233
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:05,000
Actually, we're going to take one of the flowers and we're going to slice it in half.

234
00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:08,000
Carrie slices a rose with a razor.

235
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:13,000
While Tori goes overboard on an apple with a chop saw.

236
00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:20,000
It's a clean cut, perfect, with a dirty blade, hardly a laboratory dissection.

237
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:27,000
Carrie also sets up the milk for the preservation test, before moving on to something sharper.

238
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:33,000
I'm dulling this razor so I can stick it into the pyramid and sharpen it.

239
00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:39,000
The team places one half of each item inside the pyramids one third of the way up.

240
00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:47,000
That's the location of the king's burial chamber in the real thing, and supposedly the locus of maximum power.

241
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,000
Now, let the rotting commence.

242
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:54,000
But first, another slightly more involved experiment.

243
00:17:54,000 --> 00:18:00,000
Well, we're going to get Tori all shaved up with a razor designated for each side of his face.

244
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:07,000
And then we're going to stick one of these inside the pyramid to see if possibly it gets sharper or gives him a cleaner shave on a daily basis.

245
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:15,000
So for the next two weeks, Tori's going to be shaving for science.

246
00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:19,000
Alright, so I've shaved it about the same on each side. They're about the same dullness.

247
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:25,000
So we're going to stick this one in the pyramid, this one outside of the pyramid, see if this one gets any sharper.

248
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:30,000
Like everything else, they're aligned to magnetic north and boosted in height.

249
00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:33,000
Now, the waiting begins.

250
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:37,000
For the sake of science, keep an open mind.

251
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,000
It's one week into the jet pack assembly.

252
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:44,000
Can you crash?

253
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:45,000
Yeah, I'll show you.

254
00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:46,000
Let's crash into that cliff.

255
00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:48,000
I don't know. We're going to go for the balloon.

256
00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:58,000
Adam and Jamie are paying a visit to the Hiller Aviation Museum to learn more about personal flying machines.

257
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:03,000
And who better to guide them around than a man named after a compass?

258
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:11,000
My name is North East West, N-O-R-T-H-E-A-S-T-W-E-S-T, and I'm director at the Gallery at the Hiller Aviation Museum.

259
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:14,000
So, like what happened to South?

260
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:23,000
This is the Granddaddy of Jet Packs, the Hiller Platform, named after its inventor, Stanley Hiller, and funded by the Office of Naval Research.

261
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:26,000
Is this one of the earliest ducted fan designs?

262
00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:30,000
This is the earliest ducted fan. This is the first ducted fan that ever lifted a man.

263
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,000
Really? Yes.

264
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:41,000
The Hiller Platform was more magic carpet than jet pack, with the pilot standing above a single large ducted fan.

265
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:51,000
The inaugural flight took place in strict secrecy in January 1955, but when the military went public later that year, the whole world wanted one.

266
00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,000
I'd love one of these at home.

267
00:19:54,000 --> 00:20:00,000
Well, the development cost on this back in the early 50s was still about a half a million dollars, so it's another reason we all have one sitting at home.

268
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:02,000
But I think safety more than anything.

269
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,000
And we're going to build one for a couple grand.

270
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:11,000
Even though the platform flew, the military saw it as unsafe and abandoned the project.

271
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:19,000
Only seven vehicles were ever built, but the principle of ducted fan-powered flight was off the ground.

272
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:26,000
This solo-track device, developed in the 1990s, looks almost familiar.

273
00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:30,000
Dammit, we don't need to build one of these. We already found one.

274
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:37,000
Like their work in progress, the solo-track is powered by a pair of ducted fans driven by a gas engine.

275
00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:43,000
It's amazing to see it here, because you can just see the hand-built aspect of it.

276
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:50,000
Once you start to really see the parts up close, it's really apparent that humans built it. I love that aspect.

277
00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:57,000
This prototype never flew, but with military backing, its offspring were more successful.

278
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:09,000
A Hollywood version of the solo-track device flew into action in the movie Agent Cody Banks, but it only soared with the help of special effects.

279
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:14,000
In reality, this sort of performance is a long way off.

280
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:20,000
This is the real thing on its maiden flight in November 2003.

281
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:26,000
It took seven years and ten million dollars just to get this far.

282
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,000
So where does that leave the home builder?

283
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:35,000
North, have you heard the myth or idea that you could actually buy plans?

284
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:40,000
Really simple plans, actually, for something quite like the solo-track here and build it yourself?

285
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,000
I have a whole drawer full of them.

286
00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,000
Really? Yes.

287
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,000
Well, do you know of anybody that's actually followed through and built the things?

288
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:53,000
Not with a vehicle like this. I've never seen anything like this type of lifting vehicle except for the solo-track.

289
00:21:53,000 --> 00:22:02,000
Adam and Jamie leave the museum with mixed emotions. They've learned that ducted fan devices can fly, but only just.

290
00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,000
The project hangs in the balance.

291
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:19,000
The mythbusters have just three weeks left to build a jet pack from plans purchased off the Internet.

292
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:25,000
But the more time passes, the less confident they are about getting airborne.

293
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:31,000
I'd say 15% chance of someone levitating in any way. Which is actually pretty high.

294
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:37,000
But again, the math is all there. It's all in the details. You know what? I'm going to lower that.

295
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:43,000
I'd say 5% chance that someone flies. 80% chance that this thing makes a hell of a racket.

296
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:49,000
And 15% chance that there's some horrible, horrible disaster with it.

297
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,000
Meanwhile, Christmas has come early for Jamie.

298
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:59,000
Well, this is a great little engine, but we had a fan offer us another engine that's a little lighter.

299
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:03,000
And yet it has the same power. I'm all about having a lighter engine.

300
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:06,000
And so we're going to return this.

301
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:11,000
Jamie's also decided that he needs to make a major change to the plans.

302
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:15,000
Having been to the Hiller Aviation Museum, there's one consistent theme that keeps coming up.

303
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,000
And that is that these devices have stability problems.

304
00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:26,000
In short of doing something really complicated and expensive, an idea that I had was to move the engine down low.

305
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:34,000
By lowering the engine and elongating the backpack, Jamie hopes to gain extra stability if he can get airborne.

306
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:41,000
He can't afford a gyro stabilizer, but focusing the weight lower down is the next best thing.

307
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:49,000
Despite the new engine, the new design means a heavier machine, but Jamie doesn't seem concerned.

308
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:52,000
It's going to be fun.

309
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:58,000
Day 10, and Adam checks his cowlings, which he's left to set overnight.

310
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:03,000
There we go. One cowlick. I'm quite pleased with it.

311
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:08,000
This thing's going to be mounted one here and one here.

312
00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,000
I'm ready to go, man.

313
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:18,000
He's built a turntable so he can lay the foam cowlings into a ducted fan shape with maximum precision.

314
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:22,000
So it actually seems to work okay.

315
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:27,000
It leads me to understand that there's a lot of work to do to finish this.

316
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:32,000
Several hours later, Adam's feeling down. You know, blue.

317
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:40,000
This is awful. The hard part about doing two is that once you finish one, you're only halfway there.

318
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:45,000
Each cowling takes Adam eight hours of solid sanding and shaping.

319
00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:49,000
The clock is ticking, but on balance he's pleased.

320
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:59,000
I'm all told any average Joe could do this in their shop for about, like, you know, 75 bucks worth of material.

321
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:03,000
And that's kind of the myth we're testing here. You know, can your average Joe do this?

322
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,000
Jamie's been making good progress on his backpack extension.

323
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:13,000
He's lowered the engine and fitted the elongated drive shaft.

324
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:14,000
Perfect.

325
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,000
Right on cue, the JetPack's drive system arrives.

326
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:24,000
What we have here are the pulleys that will be mounted onto each propeller.

327
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:31,000
This would be a drive belt and each propeller has one of these that goes from its hub to the central hub on the engine.

328
00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:35,000
And this would be the central hub.

329
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:46,000
While Jamie installs the power transmission, Adam is psyching himself up for the next stage of cowling construction.

330
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,000
Vacuum bagging.

331
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,000
I'm actually a bit nervous.

332
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:57,000
It's an aeronautical fiber-glassing technique designed to provide maximum strength with minimum weight.

333
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,000
First, a layer of Kevlar.

334
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,000
It's the material used in bulletproof vests.

335
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:09,000
It won't add much weight, but it'll add a lot of strength in case of a catastrophic failure.

336
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:15,000
He covers the entire foam cowling with strips of carbon fiber, which he coats in resin.

337
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,000
Excellent, excellent, excellent. I'm very pleased.

338
00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:21,000
Then a layer of peel ply.

339
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:24,000
My back is killing me though. It's like a real workout noise.

340
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:27,000
Moving around, bending over, turning around, doing this.

341
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:31,000
Finally, absorbent cloth to soak up the excess resin.

342
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,000
God, I hope this works.

343
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:40,000
The bag is placed around the cowling and Adam connects the vacuum pump.

344
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:48,000
The pressure squeezes the resin into any air pockets, providing pound for pound the strongest possible finish.

345
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:55,000
And finally, the pièce de résistance, an impromptu oven in the form of an electric blanket.

346
00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,000
And that's how you do it.

347
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:05,000
Adam leaves the cowling to bake overnight and heads back to the backpack where Jamie's ready for a balance test.

348
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:07,000
I think we're ready to see how it hangs.

349
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:10,000
Can these be cinched up tighter? I need them like...

350
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:13,000
I'm uncomfortable with all this contact with your groin.

351
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:14,000
Contact!

352
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:20,000
Lowering the engine seems to have paid off.

353
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:26,000
It actually kind of came out like I'd hoped the engine is balancing off the body weight in the front,

354
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:33,000
the way that it's all kind of configured, which is honestly not too far different than what the original plans were.

355
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:37,000
Alright, so you guys ready for a break? Let's go.

356
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,000
Alright, catch you later, Jim.

357
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,000
Bye, Jamie. See you around.

358
00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:46,000
Adam splits to unwrap his cowlings, and he seems, well, pleased.

359
00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:48,000
Oh, that outside edge looks pretty good.

360
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:51,000
Oh, I'm really pleased about this.

361
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:52,000
You know what, Jamie?

362
00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:53,000
What?

363
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:54,000
I'm kind of pleased.

364
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:55,000
Yep, he's pleased.

365
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:57,000
I am psyched.

366
00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:00,000
A final layer of epoxy gives a pleasing finish.

367
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,000
I'm pretty bloody pleased with how smooth it is.

368
00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:06,000
I slept in them last night, so I might look a little pleased.

369
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:13,000
There's just ten days left, but when the first cowling goes on, so does the light at the end of the tunnel.

370
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:17,000
Hold on, I want to stem back and look at this.

371
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:19,000
Goddamn.

372
00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:23,000
Honey, I'm home.

373
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:28,000
Just in time for some important visitors.

374
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:32,000
Inspectors from the Federal Aviation Authority, the FAA.

375
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,000
Thanks for coming down, guys.

376
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:38,000
They're here on official duty to classify the jet pack.

377
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:41,000
Unofficially, they're just plain curious.

378
00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:44,000
So what do you guys think? How airworthy does it look to you?

379
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:46,000
It's like no aircraft I've ever seen.

380
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:47,000
Would you guys fly?

381
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:49,000
Absolutely not.

382
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:55,000
You know, although we haven't been able to get them on the phone, do you have a message for the guys who sell these plants?

383
00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:58,000
I'm just concerned for your safety.

384
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:03,000
Really, if you were going to actually fly this around, just because it's so unproven.

385
00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,000
That's the bad news.

386
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:09,000
The good news is that the jet pack gets an ultralight classification,

387
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:13,000
which means a green light for an unregulated test flight.

388
00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:15,000
The verdict was great.

389
00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:19,000
This loophole occurs where, if it's under a certain weight,

390
00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:25,000
you can strap whatever you want to your back and fly it as long as you fly it out of their airspace that they care about,

391
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,000
and as long as you don't hurt any other people.

392
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:32,000
The final week of construction is a mad rush to finish on time.

393
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,000
What a bracket!

394
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:40,000
The cowlings are secured in place, and directional vanes are attached.

395
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:47,000
Jamie makes another change to the plans by adding reinforcement struts to support the ducted fans.

396
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:53,000
Finally, he installs the armrests, joysticks, and throttle control.

397
00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:58,000
As the clock runs down, the stress levels go up.

398
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,000
This is the expression I'm going to keep on making during this.

399
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,000
That.

400
00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:08,000
Exactly four weeks after they started the build,

401
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:13,000
they roll out the jet pack to the test site at the front of the shop.

402
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,000
Damn, this is a sexy machine!

403
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,000
It's been a month of moving mountains.

404
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:22,000
Have the mythbusters pulled off a miracle of amateur aeronautics?

405
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,000
Or is this jet pack a dead duck?

406
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:30,000
You know, we've been working on so many parts of this for a combined total of four weeks now.

407
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:33,000
It's the longest build we've ever done on mythbusters.

408
00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:36,000
I'm really, really psyched to see it go.

409
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:40,000
I'm a little scared, but mostly I'm completely psyched.

410
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:45,000
I mean, even if this thing's a miserable failure, I'm tickle-pink.

411
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:56,000
The build team are testing whether pyramids have mystical powers.

412
00:30:56,000 --> 00:31:00,000
And they really keep fruit fresh and razor sharp.

413
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:05,000
While they wait for things to rot or not, Tauri's off to the barbers.

414
00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:10,000
Ah, this is not cool.

415
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:13,000
Do you think it's me or the razor?

416
00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:14,000
I don't know.

417
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:17,000
Okay, I think we're done on that side.

418
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:23,000
Pyramid's side done, but the torture continues with the control.

419
00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:26,000
So, was there a difference?

420
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:31,000
The left side definitely felt duller on the right side.

421
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,000
I'm just glad this whole experience is over.

422
00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:37,000
The left side was duller?

423
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:41,000
Well, maybe there is something to pyramid power after all.

424
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:43,000
Let's check up on the rest.

425
00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:48,000
Something about rotting milk and rotting apple that just grosses me out.

426
00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:52,000
The milk's turning to cheese, but that's not all that's happening.

427
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:57,000
The apple in this one is actually rotting at a slower rate than that one.

428
00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:58,000
I know.

429
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,000
I feel the power of it.

430
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:05,000
I don't know, I'm so bummed this oogie boogie stuff is actually working.

431
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:09,000
Like it or not, the apples are rotting at different rates.

432
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:15,000
Is this pyramid power at work or has the apple experiment gone a pair-shaped?

433
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:17,000
Time to consult an Egyptologist.

434
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,000
What do you know about the power of the pyramid?

435
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:28,000
Well, the myth is that the shape itself was part of the process of preserving the body of the king.

436
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:33,000
And by extension, I suppose there are people who think that the preserve's just about anything placed inside of it.

437
00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:39,000
As far as you know, in ancient Egyptian thinking, there's no evidence that they thought about that at all.

438
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:44,000
Could the mummy's curse spell the end for pyramid power?

439
00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:52,000
Dr. Manning reckons that it's mummification that preserved the bodies of Egyptian kings, not the shape at all.

440
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:56,000
So how's the apple getting on?

441
00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:00,000
Well, it's been 15 days.

442
00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:05,000
This one is definitely rotting at a slower rate than this one.

443
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:09,000
The pyramid apple defies logic.

444
00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:14,000
It's kept its color, its shape, and its mold-free.

445
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:23,000
Flowers seem to be doing the same thing. They're both dried out. There's no real difference. I don't see any difference.

446
00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,000
And how about the milk?

447
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:37,000
Oh my God! There's like little critters crawling around in their tits.

448
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:38,000
Is there any of those?

449
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:40,000
Yeah, they're little maggots.

450
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:47,000
Milk maggots are mother-natures used by date, but razor blades can be tested with technology.

451
00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:55,000
We've brought our razor blades here to the California Academy of Sciences to see if we can put them under the electron microscope, see if the pyramid has had any effect on them.

452
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:57,000
Hi Scott.

453
00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:58,000
Hi.

454
00:33:58,000 --> 00:33:59,000
Kari, I'm with the MythBusters.

455
00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:00,000
Glad to meet you.

456
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:03,000
Scott's a guru of the electron microscope.

457
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:09,000
First, the control razor at 2,500 times magnification.

458
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:14,000
It's just hard to believe that this little forest right here is the edge of a razor blade.

459
00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:20,000
The roughness means the razor's edge is blunt. So what about the pyramid razor?

460
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:23,000
They look pretty much identical to me.

461
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:28,000
Side by side, photos show how similar they are.

462
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:34,000
At 3 magnifications, they're almost identical, and they're both different from a brand new blade.

463
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:41,000
So pyramid power sharpening seems pretty ineffectual. Would Tari agree?

464
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:47,000
Alright, so this is day 16, the last day of our experiment.

465
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:48,000
Are you ready?

466
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:49,000
I'm ready.

467
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,000
First up, the control razor.

468
00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:55,000
Ow, this is not very sharp at all.

469
00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,000
It's actually kind of hard to watch.

470
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:01,000
It's as blunt as a bowl of pudding.

471
00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:02,000
You want to go for the pyramid?

472
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,000
Yeah, hopefully that will be sharp.

473
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:07,000
I hope for your sake, pyramid power works.

474
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:10,000
Why? I bet you enjoyed seeing me in pain.

475
00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:11,000
Of course not.

476
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:12,000
How's that feel?

477
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:17,000
This is like no better than the other one. It's just as dull.

478
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:21,000
There's like cooling hairs out of my face.

479
00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:22,000
Cool.

480
00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,000
It sucks. This thing is not sharp at all.

481
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:32,000
I need a real razor.

482
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:35,000
Tari exits for medical help.

483
00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:38,000
Oh man, I'm sure glad that this myth is over.

484
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:40,000
Dude, are you alright?

485
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,000
Does it look like I'm alright?

486
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:47,000
We have to say that this part of the myth is totally busted.

487
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:49,000
I think your face is busted.

488
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:51,000
But is Mojo still working?

489
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,000
Baby, give us a kiss.

490
00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,000
You don't find me hot like this?

491
00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:02,000
You look like Al.

492
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:14,000
The Mythbusters quest to build a flying jetpack has taken them to Davis, California,

493
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:16,000
home of the Moller Skycar.

494
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:19,000
Oh man, I have to have one of these.

495
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:22,000
Look, my kid's in here too.

496
00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:30,000
Dr. Paul Moller has spent half a century and $200 million trying to develop a flying car.

497
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:34,000
According to Moller, this is the future.

498
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:41,000
Is this something that I'd be able to purchase eventually and like, you know, fly it in San Francisco to my job?

499
00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:50,000
Well, I believe as Dr. Daniel Golden, the ex-head of NASA, that this vehicle will be in the hands of 25% of the population within 10 years.

500
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:55,000
And he said he went on further and he said be within 90% of the population within 25 years.

501
00:36:55,000 --> 00:37:00,000
If he's right, it won't be long before we're flying to work, like George Jetson.

502
00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:07,000
For decades, inventors have been promising air vehicles, but the hard fact is, they're still science fiction.

503
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:11,000
What do you think? Is this all the hoax or what?

504
00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:14,000
No, I think this is cool.

505
00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:23,000
We need these things. Unless we want to pave the whole planet, you know, and put roads everywhere, it's like the highways are getting too full.

506
00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,000
What else are you going to do?

507
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:27,000
Build your own jetpack, of course.

508
00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:33,000
In just one month, Adam and Jamie have built their own from plans purchased on the Internet.

509
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:37,000
Now, the moment of truth has arrived.

510
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:43,000
I give this device about a 25% chance of actually working reasonably well.

511
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:49,000
The other 75% chance, I would say, is catastrophic failure.

512
00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:56,000
And there is a 100% chance that I am not going to be flying around untethered on this thing.

513
00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:03,000
The jetpack remains potentially deadly, so a buster steps up to the plate.

514
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:07,000
Meanwhile, Adam's having an attack of the clear light of days.

515
00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:09,000
I don't know what illusions Jamie might be under.

516
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:15,000
I've been pretty clear all along that this thing has a very, very tiny chance of actually functioning.

517
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:20,000
I give it 10% that it actually is. 10% of my being really generous.

518
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:23,000
Let's say 2% that it's a viable flying machine.

519
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:28,000
So the clever money's on gravity.

520
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:35,000
With catastrophic failure always an option on Mythbusters, the guys take the usual precautions.

521
00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:40,000
Now it's time to see if buster can actually rise up in this thing.

522
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:46,000
This is the first official flying test of the Widowmaker.

523
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:48,000
Alright, starting up when you're ready, Jamie.

524
00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:49,000
Okay, go ahead.

525
00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:54,000
Buster's wife should be checking his life insurance right about now.

526
00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:06,000
I'm just going to spin up probably to about 4500 RPM and Jamie's just checking the system out.

527
00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:09,000
See if anything's abnormally hot.

528
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:15,000
Everything looks cool, so Jamie opens the throttle.

529
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:20,000
It's all systems go.

530
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:23,000
Countdown begins.

531
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:29,000
The Widowmaker dances on the launch pad.

532
00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:32,000
A tantalizing sign of lift.

533
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:36,000
But takeoff is aborted.

534
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:41,000
Jamie thinks the fuel mixture may be too rich.

535
00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:48,000
I'm getting, my eyes are really stinging and we weren't reaching full RPM.

536
00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:53,000
I think there's a throttle, high speed throttle needle on it.

537
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:54,000
Okay.

538
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:55,000
Adjustment.

539
00:39:55,000 --> 00:40:02,000
The engine is not reaching its power band, so they do some fine tuning, adjust the throttle cable,

540
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:07,000
and prime the carburetors for another shot at immortality.

541
00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:15,000
The power of Ancient Egypt.

542
00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:20,000
The build team have been trying to harness the mystical force of the pyramids

543
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:24,000
and have unearthed a bit of a surprise.

544
00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:27,000
Alright guys, you've been testing for a couple of weeks now.

545
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:30,000
I want to ask you about how some of these tests did.

546
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:31,000
The milk?

547
00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:33,000
Ha ha, busted.

548
00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:34,000
Let's see the razor blade.

549
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:35,000
That was busted.

550
00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:36,000
And the flour?

551
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:37,000
Busted.

552
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:39,000
You can't know any difference.

553
00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:40,000
The apple.

554
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:44,000
Well, there was a little difference.

555
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:45,000
Really?

556
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:49,000
It seemed that the one inside the pyramid rotted at a much slower rate.

557
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:52,000
There's no getting away from it.

558
00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:59,000
The pyramid apple isn't exactly crisp and juicy, but it's not as shriveled as the control.

559
00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:02,000
But there may be a non-mystical explanation.

560
00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:07,000
Tari forgot to sterilize the blade of the chop saw when he split the apple

561
00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:11,000
and may have given the two halves different microbial loads.

562
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:18,000
So there's got to be one last test, this time with whole apples to avoid contamination.

563
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:25,000
They're polished with bleach, then put under a UV light, a WMD for microbes.

564
00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:31,000
And in a fit of geometrical enthusiasm, they decide to test cube power too.

565
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:34,000
If there's anything to pyramid power, this should be the setup.

566
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:35,000
We'll find out.

567
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:42,000
With everything pointing north, the apples are left to sit for four months.

568
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:47,000
Time to put this pyramid puzzle to bed.

569
00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:50,000
Okay, that's pyramid.

570
00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:53,000
This is the control. That's nothing.

571
00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:57,000
And this is cube.

572
00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:02,000
Well, it's obvious that cube power is really bad for you.

573
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:04,000
But what about the other two?

574
00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:06,000
I'm just going to take some representative samples.

575
00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:09,000
Pyramid regular.

576
00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:11,000
I'm looking at the one of the pyramid.

577
00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:13,000
I'm looking at the one out in open air.

578
00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:16,000
And I don't see any appreciable difference.

579
00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:17,000
I'd agree.

580
00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:19,000
So I think that's myth busted.

581
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:21,000
I can call this myth busted, please.

582
00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:24,000
And can we not do any more of these Uggie Boogie myths?

583
00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:33,000
Back at the launch pad, Adam and Jamie have retuned the jet packs engine.

584
00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:37,000
And it's time for a second bite at the Levitation Cherry.

585
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:42,000
Here it goes.

586
00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:44,000
I want lift off this guy.

587
00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:46,000
Round two.

588
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:54,000
This time the engine hits the butter zone.

589
00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:59,000
Jamie's whiskers are twitching.

590
00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:04,000
The tachometer reaches 5600 RPM.

591
00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:10,000
Gravity's got a fight on its hands.

592
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:17,000
The jet pack leaves the ground.

593
00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:21,000
It's almost flying.

594
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:24,000
But gravity wins out.

595
00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:27,000
Close but no cigar.

596
00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:31,000
It's getting to the borderline.

597
00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:32,000
It's right there.

598
00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:34,000
No, I can tell. It's right there.

599
00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:36,000
We've got 5600 RPM on that last one.

600
00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:38,000
We are at the power band.

601
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:40,000
We are at the maximum output of this engine.

602
00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:42,000
We have too much weight.

603
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:46,000
As far as the overall design, everything is functioning as it should.

604
00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:48,000
Except the entire machine.

605
00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:52,000
The engine is performing beautifully.

606
00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:54,000
It's all functioning.

607
00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:56,000
At this point we're just too heavy.

608
00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:59,000
According to Jamie, weight is not the main issue.

609
00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:00,000
It's thrust.

610
00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:03,000
We were given to understand we would get 500 pounds of thrust.

611
00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:06,000
This thing does not weigh 500 pounds.

612
00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:08,000
Why is it not getting off the ground?

613
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:10,000
There's some kind of a thing with...

614
00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:15,000
The only place I can point to is something to do with the efficiency of the ducts.

615
00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:18,000
They attempt to maximize thrust by adding a layer of balsa

616
00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:21,000
between the propeller tips and the cowlings.

617
00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:24,000
The smaller the gap, the larger the thrust.

618
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:26,000
Did you see that?

619
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:28,000
Was that sexy or what?

620
00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:32,000
A thread test confirms that the air flow into the ducts is smooth and uniform.

621
00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:36,000
So they should be getting the correct thrust and lift.

622
00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:37,000
Perfect!

623
00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:42,000
But even with the modifications, the guys decide to lower the bar

624
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:44,000
Keep your comments to yourself.

625
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,000
and remove Buster from the hot seat.

626
00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:47,000
Okay.

627
00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:48,000
Take that!

628
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:51,000
It's a retreat, but Jamie's philosophical.

629
00:44:51,000 --> 00:44:53,000
This is an ambitious project after all.

630
00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:56,000
You know, this is something that I keep saying.

631
00:44:56,000 --> 00:45:00,000
Like, somebody out there is spending tens of millions of dollars

632
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:03,000
and decades of work developing a device like this.

633
00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:07,000
Buster out of the picture, the jet pack is 190 pounds lighter.

634
00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:09,000
It's now or never.

635
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:10,000
All right.

636
00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:11,000
Are you ready?

637
00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:12,000
I think we're ready.

638
00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:14,000
Okay, go ahead.

639
00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:16,000
Test number three!

640
00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:21,000
Chocks away, but will it be lift off?

641
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:32,000
It's trying, but it ain't flying.

642
00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:37,000
The game's finally up.

643
00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:43,000
It's not even providing all that much lift on its own.

644
00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:49,000
If it was correctly balanced, it would be flying on it without anything on it,

645
00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:51,000
but not with a whole lot of access.

646
00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:54,000
In other words, without a pilot.

647
00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:58,000
Even so, Jamie can't resist having a go in the Widowmaker.

648
00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:01,000
Mrs. Heineman, you should look away now.

649
00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:05,000
I have a sneaking feeling this is going to like,

650
00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:09,000
not exactly tickle in a certain unmentionable region,

651
00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:14,000
but it's going to be vibrating like crazy down there.

652
00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:18,000
What the hell are you writing out there?

653
00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:21,000
Pilot de Bommadier, do you read, over?

654
00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:23,000
Are you good?

655
00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:25,000
Uh, yeah.

656
00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:35,000
I'm standing on a traffic light with a drag racer.

657
00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:37,000
It smells like a kid.

658
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:54,000
Looks like Jamie's going to be driving to work for a while yet.

659
00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:57,000
How did that feel, man?

660
00:46:57,000 --> 00:47:04,000
Well, the main thing that it feels like is that I'm in some kind of a mixer or something.

661
00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:10,000
I mean, it's like, your whole body is just like at a really high frequency vibration here.

662
00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:14,000
It's just that alone is enough to make me not want to fly around in this.

663
00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:16,000
I mean, it really is ridiculous.

664
00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:18,000
Seeing Jamie in the machine is just amazing.

665
00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:21,000
He really does, you know, it's amazing.

666
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:26,000
And I'm looking like one of those turn of the century guys in the huge flying machine

667
00:47:26,000 --> 00:47:29,000
that goes off the ramp and off the cliff.

668
00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:36,000
And unfortunately, he's met with about as much success as those magnificent men in their flying machines.

669
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:44,000
We're both exhausted of this project.

670
00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:47,000
I believe, I'm personally exhausted of this project.

671
00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:52,000
We've done all due diligence on making this thing work based on the information we've had,

672
00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:54,000
but it's nowhere in the ballpark.

673
00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:56,000
I don't get it.

674
00:47:56,000 --> 00:47:58,000
I miss the fire.

675
00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:01,000
So how did we do?

676
00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:07,000
Well, we didn't get off the ground, so I guess we failed as much as I hate to admit it.

677
00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:10,000
But we succeeded, I think, in busting a myth.

678
00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:15,000
Yeah, there's no way that the average Joe could take those plans

679
00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:18,000
and get off the ground with them.

680
00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:20,000
They were incredibly sparse.

681
00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:22,000
There wasn't enough data.

682
00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:23,000
There weren't enough details.

683
00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:25,000
They were drawn on cocktail napkins.

684
00:48:25,000 --> 00:48:27,000
Yeah, it was ridiculous.

685
00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:28,000
What do you think?

686
00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:32,000
Do you think at some point in the future we will be flying personal jetpacks to work?

687
00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:34,000
I don't think so.

688
00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:38,000
There's one really important thing to keep in mind about this type of device,

689
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:40,000
and that is that you have no backup.

690
00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:43,000
If you have a failure, you're going down like a stone.

691
00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:44,000
You're going to die.

692
00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:49,000
And for that reason, I don't think that you're going to be riding around in a personal jetpack

693
00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:52,000
any time in the near future at all.

694
00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:54,000
So myth totally busted?

695
00:48:54,000 --> 00:48:56,000
Yeah, totally busted.

696
00:49:13,000 --> 00:49:15,000
Thanks for watching.