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04-11-2011, 06:13 PM | #15741 |
Hog Driver
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Georgia
Posts: 12,224
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I like the idea of jetpacks in the form of gliders but strapping your guys in vertical-launching airfoiless JUMP-style rocket-fueled packs is just asking for trouble in my opinion!
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04-11-2011, 06:53 PM | #15742 |
EQ-Viper
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 4,343
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Quote:
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04-11-2011, 07:05 PM | #15743 |
Hog Driver
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Georgia
Posts: 12,224
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The problem with such a light copter is the poor useful load of around 265 lbs. That leaves room for a man, some fuel and a very light ruck. Not much of a weapon's platform, not a fast or long-range form of transportation, no protection, and cost to seat (or soldier-transported) ratio would be too poor to justify its use. Stuffing as many men as possbile w/ parachutes into the back of a C-17 is far more cost effective than building one of these for every man.
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04-11-2011, 07:09 PM | #15744 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: May 2007
Location: England
Posts: 1,230
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Quote:
Using thrust vectoring to control an aircraft's altitude is, and perhaps always will be, exponentially inefficient compared to using things like wings and rotors, so yeah, I just don't see something like a JUMP-style jet pack coming into practical use anytime soon or at all. I think something like the miniature helicopter that Destro's Annihilator troops would be more likely to find use... the GEN H-4 one-man helicopter is almost there in terms of overall size, I think.
Quote:
The problem with such a light copter is the poor useful load of around 265 lbs. That leaves room for a man, some fuel and a very light ruck. Not much of a weapon's platform, not a fast or long-range form of transportation, no protection, and cost to seat (or soldier-transported) ratio would be too poor to justify its use. Stuffing as many men as possbile w/ parachutes into the back of a C-17 is far more cost effective than building one of these for every man.
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04-11-2011, 07:15 PM | #15745 |
EQ-Viper
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 4,343
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Quote:
The problem with such a light copter is the poor useful load of around 265 lbs. That leaves room for a man, some fuel and a very light ruck. Not much of a weapon's platform, not a fast or long-range form of transportation, no protection, and cost to seat (or soldier-transported) ratio would be too poor to justify its use. Stuffing as many men as possbile w/ parachutes into the back of a C-17 is far more cost effective than building one of these for every man.
And with UAVs becoming cheaper and cheaper, soon the idea of using these things as potential one man aerial reconnaissance platforms will also fade, if the idea hasn't slipped into "quaint novelty idea" territory already. Last edited by zuludelta; 04-11-2011 at 07:19 PM.. |
04-11-2011, 07:25 PM | #15746 |
Hog Driver
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Georgia
Posts: 12,224
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But I do think that advancements in wing-suits or very light, silent gliders for infiltrating small recon units would prove useful in limited scenarios. Jetpacks are simply going to be too noisy for silent insertions or extraction and I certainly wouldn't use it for an assault platform, so that's why I've avoided using them in my Joeverse. They're cool as hell looking though, so I give Troynos points for having a Joe unit with "flare"...and guts!
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04-11-2011, 07:51 PM | #15747 |
EQ-Viper
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 4,343
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The fascination with jet packs is an enduring one. I remember when Halo 3 and Killzone 3 came out and despite all the improvements in the respective games, all anyone could talk about was the addition of jet packs
I think the whole thing taps into a common enthrallment with the idea of powered and controlled flight unencumbered by things like cockpits and canopies and such, "touching the sky," as it were. |
04-11-2011, 09:31 PM | #15748 |
#voteblackjack
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Northwood, NH
Posts: 35,754
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I actually like the gliders better then the JUMP.
The idea is that the 3 man team goes in first ahead of the main assault unit. Barrel Roll is the sniper. Starduster provides security/spotter and Grand Slam is the "painter", laser targeter. They sneak in, hide out, and get the lay of the land for the rest of the team to parachute/drive/whatever in. It's just another means of getting those 3 to the operation. And pays homage to their various figures. I do think I'll use Skydive and RoC Desert Battle Ripcord (named Divebomb) as flight suit guys.
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04-11-2011, 10:26 PM | #15749 |
EQ-Viper
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 4,343
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To switch topics for a bit...
... I was reading a magazine article about the Coast Guard's HITRON (Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron) earlier today, and I couldn't help but be amazed at how good their "snipers" are (I put the word snipers in quotes because they're technically marksmen, not snipers; i.e., they're not trained in stalking, surveillance, and fieldcraft). They can accurately hit the small inboard and outboard motors on smugglers' boats in one shot while they're on moving helicopters. Using rifles chambered in .50 cal. (not the most accurate things in the world). That's just nuts. Think about all the factors they have to take into account in addition to the standard stuff you have to keep in check when sighting and shooting a target at a distance... the forward motion of the boat and whatever evasive maneuvers the person steering the boat might use, the motion the waves impart to the boat, the motion of the helicopter the HITRON marksman is on, the effect of the helicopter's downwash on accuracy, etc. Somebody should make a custom Joe based on these guys. |
04-11-2011, 10:36 PM | #15750 |
EQ-Viper
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 4,343
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And the thing too is that their target is pretty small on top of all the complicating factors most other marksmen don't have to contend with. They're trained to hit and damage specific parts of the outboard engine and avoid others, like the integral fuel tanks (because you want to disable the engine but you don't want to ignite fuel and blow the whole thing up or sink the boat, potentially killing everyone aboard, destroying evidence, and creating an international incident in the Gulf of Mexico).
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