At the crossroads of innovation and experimentation there is also the risk of opportunistic discourses, that sometime touch on a desire to develop an idea no matter how well suited it might be for a variety of uses. The "Individual Lifting Vehicle (ILV)" not only explored the desire to develop a personal flying machine, but was also being introduced to help with border control, military operations, search and rescue missions, or its use by private citizens for leisure or to allow them to evacuate disaster prone areas.

In essence, the project that has now being sold to AirBuoyant for further development, seems to be based around a double helicopter helix, turned upside down in order to accommodate a single passenger on top of it. According to their old site: "The Individual Lifting Vehicle (ILV) is the result of applied innovative modern technology allowing anybody to have their own personal flying vehicle in the backyard or garage. The ILV can soar over trees and houses requiring pilot skills equal only to riding a motor bike. Control of the ILV is obtained by simply shifting your body weight. This new ILV concept is being developed as a kit in the United States."

The proposal has been know to insinuate its use to avoid scenarios such as those witnessed during the evacuation of the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which is not by a long stretch what should be done in order to achieve efficient prevention of such hazards. The site offers descriptions and actual images of a working prototype to illustrate all the effort that went into the project. And yet, the variety of uses, and an approach to individualistic solutions that only a selected few would be able to benefit from, feel rather discomforting when we consider the severity of the issue. In time this could very well be the Segway of disaster preparedness...

Image courtesy of the PAM Group