Ever since the dawn of time humans have been fascinated with the idea of flying. We been building flying machines ever since the Wright brothers begin experimenting, and even before that. We have also dreamt of building personal flying machines like those that can be seen in cartoons. Well thanks to recent advances in technology jetpacks might not be too far off after all, according to Martin Aircraft.
A number of jetpacks have been invented in the past couple years, but they’re all very impractical, being either too large, too noisy, or they simply do not work. Until now.
Martin Aircraft is a New Zealand based company, and they made their first working prototype for the device back in 2008. They’ve been working on the product ever since, and are now expected to release a product to the public in 2015.
Not only is the product going to be the first practical consumer level jetpack, but it is also a very powerful machine. It is able to travel at up to 60mph and reach an altitude of up to 8,000 feet. That’s not a small feat. The thrust of the machine will allow it to lift from the ground at 13 feet per second, which really means you’ll be able to get pretty high pretty quickly. Not only that, but the Martin jetpack is able to cruise for 30 minutes before the gas tank needs to be refilled. The whole machine is controlled by a simple joystick.
Martin has been performing a series of manned flights, which have been proving successful. Despite the fact that the machine is theoretically able to reach 8,000 feet, the test flights have only been up to around 20 feet, but Martin is expected to conduct flights at higher altitudes before the product is released in 2015.
One might think that a device like this is too dangerous to be a consumer level product, but safety precautions have been put in place, and the jetpack is equipped with a ballistic parachute. Martin says that the device should only be flown in reasonable weather conditions.
More information about this product is expected closer to its release, but the fact remains – we might not be as far off from a consumer level jetpack as we previously thought!
