I flipped the fuel switch to full choke; pressed the red button marked START, on the harness on my chest and heard a sound remarkably like a gigantic, uncontrolled fart erupt from behind me.

"IT WORKS!" I cried aloud, as the engine settled down to a steady, throbbing roar.

My PS/T was ready for either enforcing social distancing, with its two sets of counter-rotating, whirring blades creating two vivid orange circle around me, at waist height and at knee height.

I pulled up gently on the collective control, rising above the earthbound crowd and gave the cyclic control a nudge, noting that I moved forward slowly.

I would get the hang of this thing, even if it killed me.
-- UnaBubba, Mar 25 2020

I was expecting something a little more ballistic & (only-just) sub-orbital, or better yet, super-orbital.

[Disappointed expression]
-- Skewed, Mar 25 2020


//heard a sound remarkably like a gigantic, uncontrolled fart erupt from behind me.//

Widely known to exist, not a new idea, etc. etc.

Oh sorry was there more to the idea? I'll read it again
-- pocmloc, Mar 25 2020


It sounds like a sort of helicopter. I thought [8th] was dead against helicopters (or, as he might put it, alive because against helicopters).
-- pertinax, Mar 25 2020


You are correct. However, we want to know more about these whirring blades, and how sharp they are. It's entirely possible to leave them so they don't generate lift.
-- 8th of 7, Mar 25 2020


From the description, the blades encircle the wearers' waist, like a bizarre, lethal metallic tutu.

It could permit the development of a spectacular, though short-lived*, form of ballet...

*For the performers.
-- 8th of 7, Mar 25 2020







We should be leaving more space between annotations now.





-- hippo, Mar 25 2020


*For the [other] performers?
-- Skewed, Mar 25 2020


No, it should resemble a ring of outward-pointed katana blades. Scimitars would be acceptable, if aerodynamically necessary, but for the pure look of the thing, katanas would be best.

Oh, and we spurn this "social distancing" thing as irrelevant and useless <Cough, cough, cough, splutter, wheeze/>
-- 8th of 7, Mar 25 2020



random, halfbakery