Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Extreme Commuting by V-1 Replica

Get there fast ....
  (+12, -1)(+12, -1)
(+12, -1)
  [vote for,
against]

There are a number of "extreme" sports; skiing, mountain biking, croquet, ironing.

We propose adding commuting to the list.

Extreme commuters start their journey by climbin into a carbon fibre replica of a Fieseler Fi 103 (V-1 ) pilotless drone. This is launched by steam catapult. On reaching the destination, the nose cone detaches and the commuter free falls, deploying a steerable parachute wby pulling the ripcord with the right hand while clutching their notebook computer bag firmly in their left hand.

The drone, now empty of fuel, deploys a parachute and drifts gently down onto a conveneient open space. The commuter steers themselves in the direction they want to go; immediately on landing, they fold their chute, unpack a folding titanium-framed microbike from their backpack, and race off to their place of work.

8th of 7, May 10 2008

Fieseler Fi 103 http://en.wikipedia...iki/V-1_flying_bomb
Crude but effective [8th of 7, May 10 2008]

A certain halfbaker taking off for the weekend. http://www.youtube....e_E&feature=related
[Amos Kito, May 10 2008]

TridentAir TridentAir
Shameless self-promotion. [wagster, May 10 2008]

Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg ... http://en.m.wikiped..._103R_(Reichenberg)
... in which it was expected that the pilot would be killed, or at best, parachute down ... [baconbrain, Aug 28 2014]

[link]






       I'm in (+), but I want to hear a little more details on the ejection from the rocket. How fast will I be going when the nose cone separates? This reminds me slightly of the pods from "Starship Troopers" which I really liked.
MisterQED, May 10 2008
  

       // How fast will I be going //   

       How fast do you want to go ?
8th of 7, May 10 2008
  

       Were V1s particularly controllable? I foresee little connection between how fast you want to go, and the speed (or, possibly, direction) you're likely to achieve. [+]
david_scothern, May 10 2008
  

       //and race off to their place of work// without stopping since every police officer within 20 miles will be proceeding quite quickly to wherever they've landed: pulse-jets are LOUD!!!   

       ummm... how you gonna get home ?
FlyingToaster, May 11 2008
  

       <Dull factoid, according to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford> At the height of their production, the Fi103 cost less to build than a Volkswagen (albeit with slave labour) </dfattiwmad>
AbsintheWithoutLeave, May 11 2008
  

       Just watch out for hungry leapords deploying from fiberglass V2s...
Alterother, May 15 2008
  

       Gravity's Rainbow, anyone?
calum, May 15 2008
  

       See, calum, when this idea first hit the main page I was trying to come up with a clever Gravity's Rainbow anno, and I've yet to do so.   

       A screaming commute across the sky...?
Noexit, May 15 2008
  

       Something about a Mercedes-Enzian?
Which will win here, sloth or entropy?
Geli Tripping across the sky?
The favoured transport of Nelson Mandala?
  

       You're right, it's *hard* to go clever GR annos.
calum, May 15 2008
  

       An additional component of this idea is to include Extreme Shaving, where, as the male commuter parachutes down, they shave their stubble with foam and an old fashioned cut-throat razor.   

       Suggestions for similar activities for female commuters are awaited with some interest. Please note that ideas in very poor taste may be deleted, unless excessively amusing.
8th of 7, May 15 2008
  

       I suggest that women not commute at all. Instead, they should be home, waiting with my dinner prepared and my slippers warmed.
Noexit, May 15 2008
  

       [Noexit], just for the record, do you desire internment or cremation ?
8th of 7, May 15 2008
  

       sp. interment
pertinax, May 16 2008
  

       [pertinax] No, I think locked-up without charge sounds about right.
AbsintheWithoutLeave, May 16 2008
  

       Instead of stepping, suave and clean-shaven from your replica V1, wouldn't you be more likely to trickle from it as a sort of halfbaker soup, having been crushed by the massive take-off accelaration?
hippo, May 16 2008
  

       //having been crushed by the massive take-off accelaration?//   

       Steam catapults were widely used on aircraft carriers. The accelerations are not harmful.   

       If only this were cheaper, or I had more money than I could use.
sninctown, May 16 2008
  

       [8th of 7] if you're burning or burying either the slippers or the dinner, all bets are off.
Noexit, May 16 2008
  

       "They Died With Their Carpet Slippers On"....   

       No, somehow it doesn't quite work.
8th of 7, May 16 2008
  

       You could go the same route Thomas Pynchon went, and just type whatever comes into your head, rather than trying to come up with a clever reference.
GutPunchLullabies, May 16 2008
  

       // Fi103 ... cheaper than a Volkswagen //   

       Probably considerably cheaper - the V1 is basically just a flying torpedo and the engine is an empty pipe with a valve at one end.
FlyingToaster, Aug 27 2014
  

       "This is 8ths idea." click "Yup!"   

       Do I know my fellow halfbakers or what? [+]
doctorremulac3, Aug 27 2014
  

       I'm kinda curious as to the buzz-bomb's vibrational acceleration as well.
RayfordSteele, Aug 27 2014
  

       Well, I was within earshot when some folks fired up a small pulse-jet engine, only a foot or so long. It was so incredibly frakking loud that I had to go see what was the source of all that racket. I did not go within a hundred meters until it was shut off, and when I saw, I still couldn't believe it had made all that sound.   

       I thought V-1s were supposed to up-end and crash down into their targets. And what's this sissy stuff about helmet and goggles?
baconbrain, Aug 28 2014
  

       //V1 is basically just a flying torpedo and the engine is an empty pipe with a valve at one end.   

       Sp. "Citroen 2CV".
not_morrison_rm, Aug 28 2014
  

       // And what's this sissy stuff about helmet and goggles? //   

       More for the look of the thing than anything … a Stahlhelm, and a pair of British dust goggles, like Rommel used to wear.
8th of 7, Aug 28 2014
  
      
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