Skier discovers amazing new possibilities with personal jet pack
By: Pete Thomas, GrindTV.com
Troy Hartman has discovered that a skier does not need a chairlift to ascend the snowy slopes if he has a personal jet pack. In the video, posted by Hartman, he can be seen whisking atop the flats and ascending hills at speeds up to 47 mph, while at only half-throttle.
This kind of thing clearly isn't for everyone. Hartman, who lives in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., is a professional stuntman who enjoys sky diving and, bungee jumping and other extreme pursuits. The jet pack he uses was built for a rigid sky-diving wing he recently developed for flying after jumping out of airplanes. "I cannot lift off and fly with it by itself," he says of the jet pack. "But I am developing another wing, different from the sky-diving jet wing, to do just that."
During testing -- the video footage was shot at Sierra Meadows Ranch near Mammoth Lakes -- Hartman has become somewhat of a spectacle and has been invited to give demonstration performances at various ski resorts, within areas set aside for safe exhibitions.
Hartman also is exploring various peak ascents beyond resort boundaries which, of course, would enable him to ski down virgin snow without making a long, arduous climb. "One thing that everybody wonders is what's powering it," he says. "There are two 'UAV' jet engines designed for military drones. Runs on standard 'Jet-A' fuel."
Like we mentioned, this type of thing is not for everyone.
