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Wingpack

Personal transportation device that allows bird-like flight.

Wingpack 1
Image from Steve Bowers
A Wingpack uses a combination of smartmatter construction and effector systems to duplicate the structure and capabilities of a bird's wings in a device that can be worn by a modosophont with human-like mass as a backpack harness.

Wingpacks typically employ interlocking 'feathers' of woven nanotube sheets and telescoping diamondoid rods to enable them to fold to very small size (generally 1/10m on a side) when not in use. A standard Wingpack is capable of operating for several hours in a standard Earth level gravity field or equivalent, and for much longer in low gravity environments.

Wingsuit
Image from Steve Bowers
Sports wingpacks use self-inflating graphene wings to reduce weight

Wingpacks are also useful in microgravity environments, especially large ones like freespheres and gravity balloons. However the method of locomotion in such an environment is quite different.
 
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Appears in Topics
Atmospheric TransportDrytech/HylotechHigh Tech / Hitech
 
Development Notes
Text by Todd Drashner
Initially published on 13 August 2002.

 
 
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