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A practical jetpack (finally) takes off

Martin JetPack P12

Jetpacks have been a staple of science fiction and movies for decades. Remember James Bond’s flight in Thunderball? However, these older designs had a number of drawbacks: they couldn’t fly very far or very long and they were difficult to control. If you wanted a jetpack, you’d be better be a daredevil stunt pilot. Until now.

The Martin Jetpack, developed by a plucky 13-employee company in Christchurch, New Zealand has built and tested a practical jetpack.It is much easier to control and heralds the age of a practical everyday jetpack.

The company is equipping its existing prototype with an improved engine and building a second prototype to accelerate testing. The company has received authorisation from the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority to carry out manned flight tests and has classified the jetpack as a Class 1 microlight aircraft.

Instead of using dangerous hydrogen peroxide fuel, the Martin JetPack uses twin ducted fan engines powered by more a conventional V4 two-stroke engine generating 200 horsepower.

When the design is fully mature it promises an endurance of more than 30 minutes, at speeds up to 74 km/h and altitudes about 800 feet. It does come with one James Bond-style feature: a parachute for emergencies.


 

(This article first appeared on my Forbes Aviator column)

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jason says

    November 19, 2013 at 18:31

    Wow, I cant wait to take my jetpack down the shops!!!

    Reply

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Matthew Stibbe
Matthew Stibbe is CEO of Articulate Marketing and Turbine, the easy, online way to deal with office paperwork. He has an FAA CPL/IR and an EASA PPL/IR and sometimes flies a Cirrus SR-22. He also writes about wine at Vincarta and being a better manager at Geek Boss.
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