Posted on 03/13/2010 8:52:39 AM PST by Doogle
UPDATE:Flying cars and robot maids may still be far from reality, but one Jetsons-era vision of the future is very real: the jetpack.
After nearly 30 years in development, New Zealand's Martin Aircraft Company is finally gearing up to sell its jetpack: two rockets driven by a 2-liter, 200-horsepower engine that can theoretically take you as high as 8,000 feet.
The company is currently taking commercial orders, but Martin expects it will be selling the devices to individuals late this year.
With a range of 31 miles and a maximum speed of 63 miles per hour, you'll be able to jaunt to the store at will, or to the gas station for a fill-up. That's right, Martin's jetpack uses ordinary gasoline, not jet or rocket fuel.
The future is now, though it'll cost you around $100,000. So why buy a jetpack rather than, say, a midsize sailboat or a high-performance motorcycle?
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Wonderful. Another bomb delivery mechanism for Al-Qaida.
LMAO
Lets see 2 liters will take you 31 miles...that’s 62 miles to the gallon...That’s very economical. Is the fuel savings less with Ethanol blends?
And sales will end the day after the first idiot kills himself in one....
Attorneys destroyed Civil Aviation in America.
they can’t put on a pair of shoes right...it will be awhile till we have to worry about them. I’d be worried more about some lunatic “progressive” right here in the US like Ayers
I mean mount a recoiless rifle on that sucker, or a few anti tank rockets!
Didn’t the ultralight flight requrirements call for a minimum stall speed (power off) of around 20 mph?
This thing ain’t gonna windmill down anywhere near that (LOL)
Personally, just from looking at the flight tests and demonstrations... I think there's absolutely some areas that can see some quite rapid development and improvement. It's like looking at the first Segways, and how different today's models are from the first demonstration devices.
I could easily see pairing with some of the capacitor battery designs that are out there, as well as semi antonymous GPS piloting software, and you could pretty much type in the map coordinates, verify via imaging from Google or Microsoft that the target location is indeed where you want to go, and have the device fly you from your carport to 30 ft over your target, and all you have to do is land.
They and economics did a lot of damage, but the re-birth has been well underway for a while now with homebuilders. I'm constantly amazed by the large number and variety of airplanes available and by the craftsmanship and innovation of everyone involved. And now jet packs!!
hope it has one of those pop out parachutes the ultras started carrying
Reason being is that you look like a total dork on it. Think Mike Dukakis in a tank, John Kerry on a snowboard or Obama on a bicycle and you pretty much have the mental image of somebody on one if these death-trap contraptions.
I'd give it another 20 years before somebody can come out with a "cool" version.
HEADLINE: Aircraft crashes after sucking in Jetpacker avoiding flock of geese.
Ok, I am officially completely impressed. I’d love for this one to have a 5 litre tank. It would completely replace a commuter car.
...yeah but they throw in a portable body bag with self addressed FEX EX mailing strip attached.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vCJ5ph6Hw5w/RyXpgt6FpZI/AAAAAAAABHU/npJF3fCAMvs/s1600/Alec-Deleon.jpg")
Not only that but the added benefit of flying in a straight line could cut the length of trips down drastically
JANE!! STOP THIS CRAZY THING!!!
Leavin on a jet pack
don’t know when I’ll be back again...
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