I'm looking for some cold propulsion possibilities

ShaneGarcia7

I am coming up with a new wing suit that combines soaring with jet pack propulsion in such a way that even valley dwellers can fly, and possibly commute in this fassion. I fear compressed gas alone will not have enough thrust for long enough.
One concept to think of is to charge a liquid/gas substance negatively, and have the repulsion of the electrons become propulsion for the aircraft (person), but how can that charge be contained without shocking the container....?
I am hesitant to try heat based propulsion because there will be no heat protection.
Help would be much appreciated ;)

djpailo

Is this what you are referring to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_thruster

ShaneGarcia7

@#2 yes! Thank you!

Travis_King

The thrust of an ion thruster is, I believe at the current state of the technology, far far too low for low altitude sustained flight for a payload of 200 lbs.

Astronuc

Compressed gas would require a thick-walled (relatively speaking) storage tank, which would defeat the purpose of propulsion.

It is impractical to storage charge.

Ion thrusters produce low thrust.

One must look at thrust to weight/mass ratios for appropriate technology.

A more practical approach would be along the lines of the Jet Man, Yves Rossy.

A wing suit is usually for gliding, or rather falling more slowly than without a wingsuit. Their is insufficient lift in a wingsuit to make it practical for long distance travel.