Vertipod – the flying Segway (OF DEATH)

Gary Cutlack Vehicles
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vertipod.jpgFancy dying in a unique and novel way that will secure your immortality via a report on the local news?

Perhaps you ought to investigate the Vertipod. Clearly little more than a death trap for the rich and tired of life entrepreneur, Vertipod is a hovering, $10,000 potential death machine, which maker Pete Bitar would probably prefer we called a “personal transport solution.”

It’s technically classified as a light aircraft, plus, for extra danger points, it’s supplied in kit form so you can unsafely and improperly put it together yourself. It’d be easier just putting your head in an oven.

But if you fancy risking doing 40mph while 15 feet off the ground with a 440cc lawnmower engine strapped to your feet, be our guest. Just leave a message in the Comments bit about which song you’d like played at your funeral.

(Via Dvice)

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Gary Cutlack
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19 comments

  • can anyone give me an update to 6 28 2010 what they are doing.. a web site, ophone number, email address, How much they are.. and vids of THIS and not the other wavering in the wind one they bought from another guy that spent his life’s saving and still could not get it to be blown over when the wind was 5-8 mh. ?
    Please can I get an update on this item anyone..? alex

  • Pete , very nice design.. Please tell me, Does it use One (1) rop..? i just wonder how the TorQ is not there to spin you around..? I am very interested and would like to be put on your List… Thank you
    alex kattas
    [email protected] next time in Las Veas tell me, I will get you a very low cost room

  • First I want to correct a misstatement about the engine that is first made in the article, then carried on, as if accurate, by several commentors: a 440cc engine is many times larger than what you would find on any lawnmower! In fact, it is the size of a mid-size motorcycle engine, with plenty of power to propel a two-wheel vehicle, rider, and passenger much faster than Bitar’s creative hovercraft. Also, it sounds as if the project is still under design. Safety is an issue in any vehicle. I guess they will have to drop a few with some crash-dummies on board to see how a person will fare. I recommend we keep an open mind and not be swayed by one-sided writing by a blogger. Who knows what this project could accomplish. One day we could all be flying to work as a result of this inventive work, including the lessons learned from it. If we all sit around and criticize inventors, we will never move forward. Flight is a huge leap forward in travel from driving on streets. I dream daily of skipping over all those crazy traffic signals that we all call ‘stop lights’ for a reason. My hats off to Pete and others like him. GOOD LUCK Pete, a majority of people are on your side!

  • You know, this really is sad, and Kevin is right, you sound like a bunch of scared children. If you don’t like the product, don’t buy it. If you think it’s unsafe, don’t use it. A car, motorcycle, bicycle, or even skate board are unsafe and potentially fatal if used improperly. Chill out, let Pete have his moment, and do something constructive, or at least less obnoxious, with your time.

  • Wow – the cowardly author invites us to come cringe with him. You and Mitch ever heard of a motorcycle?

    Song to play? Grow a Pair….

  • Pete Bitar quote: [And the last time I checked, 40mph wasn’t all that fast…] Try this Pete, run not full speed but just run into a brick wall… Ouch right, now that was about 10 mph… So what is going to happen when your doing 40 mph, flying at 15 feet over this 6 foot brick wall and your 440cc lawnmower engine sputters a little as lawnmower engines sometimes do and you lose altitude ???

  • Too bad they are about 50 years late with this “new” technology.

    In the late 1950s Lackner Helicopters produced the “Heli-Vector” a counter rotating blade version of this with a higher speed and the ability to land on water or land. Designated the DH-4 or HZ-1 by the US Army and called the “aerocycle” by the media 12 were built for testing with the first flight in 1955.

  • I’m sure this description is all too accurate. *vomitting sarcasm*

    More power to you Mr. Bitar. Once I save up enough money I plan on building one of these vertipods and showing it off to all my friends.

  • Mr. Bitar, good job using restraint. i on the other hand don’t posses the skills necessary to properly respond to public scrutiny. if it were my flyer that came from an idea in my head and we finally have a marketable product I … … never mind. nice job mr. Bitar.

  • Dear Author,

    It amazes me how people write stuff and publish it without doing any research or making any effort at an interview.

    We will not sell a death trap. The physics of air column, vector thrust flight were proven and have been used for 50 years. The technology is safe, and with the way it is designed, even an engine failure at 15′ off the ground will not kill, or even seriously inujure anyone. And the last time I checked, 40mph wasn’t all that fast…

    The kit will be pre-engineered, so all the builder has to do is assemble it in about 4 hours – about the time it takes to put together your kid’s bicycle on Christmas…

    The VertiPod will not be sold until it can be tested completely and made very, very safe. Safety is our first concern. The physics are working to our advantage; we need to continue the development with safety in mind.

    If you’d really like to honestly report on something, research it. I’m open for an interview.

    Regards,
    Pete

  • Don’t fear the reaper – Blue Öyster Cult. Man, I’d love to try one of those… wearing full body armor.

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