The Future Now: Jetpacks to Go on Sale Late This Year

FOXNEWS ^ | 03/13/10 | Jeremy A. Kaplan

[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?

[Daffynition]

Anyone remember the legendary Hal Graham?

[Hardraade]

How impressive. An air-segway. Now you can break more than just your nose tripping over an obstruction...

[Daffynition]

Approves...........

[rahbert]

2L is the engine displacement.

[Candor7]

[Slings and Arrows]

Soooooo...who wants be a beta tester?

[SunkenCiv]

I won’t be doing business with any auto insurance company that also insures these. Period. Count on it.

[Daffynition]

A Water-Powered Jetpack

[Daffynition]

Geez ...somebody got up on the wrong side of bed this morning. Call me on your rotary phone ...we need to talk about this. ;-P

[katana]

God bless Kiwi ingenuity, but there may be a reason why all of the "pilots" but one shown in the video were slender women and the one man (at the end) looked skinny as Hell and was just standing there with a grin on his face.

But it's an interesting attempt at something people have been dreaming about since the days of Dick Tracy cartoons.

[valkyry1]

They may look like a cool thing to alot of people, but a lot of people will die on these things too.

[southernnorthcarolina]

Hmmmm.

Tempting. The concrete parking area in front of my new house has been compared to a helipad. Looks like the perfect take-off/landing area.

[Eye of Unk]

There will be Chinese copies I’m sure, and I bet there will be plans for a new generation of kamikaze Jihad fighters lining up for suicide missions, like into Israel.

[valkyry1]

They could be used by suicide jihads here in the States too, it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to come up with several types of missions right off the top of ones head.

[mlocher]

You articulated two great points. Do you want the prize behind door number 1, door number 2 or door number 3?

[SunkenCiv]

Maybe you’re right... could lead to more production of, and lower prices for, peroxide, in turn to more blondage...

[SunkenCiv]

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.

Of course, then the fuel runs out, and you're on your own...

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Don't see kites stuck on power lines much anymore but I guess now we'll start seeing these jet packers.

[mlocher]

They may look like a cool thing to alot of people, but a lot of people will die on these things too.

This is a cool thing, but it will be deemed an inappropriate toy if HC passes. The gov't will stop providing health care benefits to people injured on these.

[william clark]

Still no images from Lost in Space or Jonny Quest?