Suzie is running late for school. She picks up her bag lunch, puts on a pair of sunglasses and steps onto her SoloTrek XFV, strapping the unit to her back. Her mother waves to her as she turns on the unit's engine and flies vertically into the air. There she meets her friend Charlie, hovering about 75 feet off the ground.
Millennium Jet, Inc. sounds like the name of a futuristic company that could make such personal flying machines possible. However, the company is working on making the SoloTrek XFV (Exo-Skeletor Flying Vehicle) a reality now, not years into the future.
The SoloTrek XFV is designed to hold a single passenger who has complete control over the machine's motions. The pilot steps onto two platforms and turns on the motor that operates two ducted fans above the shoulders. The fans are quieter and more efficient than propellers.
Engineers designed the SoloTrek XFV to fly 80 m.p.h. for about 130 miles and to land in an area the size of a dining room table. While the SoloTrek XFV will be able to soar 100 miles above the ground, to date it has not flown higher than three feet.
\Like the Wright brothers, we measure our success in seconds and feet,"" said Michael Moshier, chief executive officer and chief technical officer of Millennium Jet, Inc. ""We're taking baby steps while becoming comfortable with SoloTrek's handling qualities.""
Moshier founded Millennium Jet, Inc. in 1996. On Dec. 18, 2001, he piloted the first SoloTrek XFV at an altitude of about two feet. Though tethered, the aircraft managed to hover for about 20 seconds. In the coming months, Moshier predicts that the tethers will be removed to conduct tests on free-hover flights.
If the SoloTrek is as successful as Millennium Jet, Inc. hopes, it will change society in numerous ways.
It will assist military personnel in search and rescue, reconnaissance and surveillance. Soldiers will move in and out of enemy territory more easily, avoiding land mines, blocked roads and impassable bridges.
Police officers may pinpoint speeders and escaped criminals more quickly than their current capabilities allow.
The vehicles could help in the construction and maintenance of power lines, bridges and buildings. The Coast Guard, FBI and CIA could also benefit greatly from this single-person aircraft.
According to the Millennium Jet, Inc. homepage (http://www.solotrek.com), the cost of the SoloTrek XFV should be similar to that of a high-end sports car. This means that some civilians will have access to the vehicle for transportation and recreation.
""We have all been dreaming of such a vehicle for many years, and now the dream has the potential to become a reality,"" Moshier said.
If it does become a reality, the question becomes how safe such a vehicle could be. The SoloTrek XFV monitors the status of life-critical systems. Built-in sensors notify the passenger of over-heating, increasing vibration or diminished oil quality. Because the aircraft is only about 100 feet off the ground, the pilot will be able to land quickly. Otherwise, the pilot may eject and parachute safely to the ground. Some, however, are skeptical that the SoloTrek XFV will ever be used outside of the military.
""Someday they may make these reliable enough that the military can use them, especially the [Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles] versions, for some missions. But aircraft in general and rotorcraft in particular take far more of a commitment of time, energy and money than most people are willing to invest,"" said UW-Madison professor of astronomy Christopher Anderson.
For now, the U.S. Government Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has provided a grant of over $5 million to Millennium Jet, Inc. The money is used to continue research and development of the SoloTrek XFV. Scientists and engineers at NASA's Ames Research Center have joined with Millennium Jet, Inc. researchers to provide advice about engineering, technology and testing of the vehicle.
""With its expertise in rotorcraft aeromechanics and control, human factors and air traffic management, Ames is particularly well-qualified to participate in the advanced technology development required for a successful roto-mobile,"" said Ed Aiken, chief of the Army/NASA Rotorcraft division at Ames.
Whether or not the SoloTrek XFV becomes reality, the research is evidence that NASA and Millennium Jet, Inc. are not only about technological advances but also about exploring the human imagination. And even if Suzie does not get to school on time, somewhere someone is trying to make her dream come true.
