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The First 'Practical' Jetpack May Be On Sale In Two Years

Posted by Soulskill on from the for-sufficiently-impractical-values-of-practical dept.

Daniel_Stuckey writes "This week, New Zealand-based company Martin Aircraft became certified to take what it calls 'the world's first practical jetpack' out for a series of manned test flights. If all goes well, the company plans to start selling a consumer version of the jetpack in 2015, starting at $150,000 to $200,000 and eventually dropping to $100,000. 'For us it's a very important step because it moves it out of what I call a dream into something which I believe we're now in a position to commercialize and take forward very quickly,' CEO Peter Coker told the AFP."

28 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. Practical by ZombieBraintrust · · Score: 4, Insightful

    30 minutes max... 400 pounds.... starting at $150,000

    I think this guy has a skewed idea of practical.

    1. Re:Practical by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

      50km/hr for 30 minutes is 25km.

      Halve that for a return trip, and halve it again for a safety margin, and anyone who lives within 6km of work now has a viable method of commuting that completely avoids traffic.

    2. Re:Practical by Freshly+Exhumed · · Score: 3, Informative

      It *is* practical, if you are a narcissistic, sociopathic, self-anointed demigod, bent on showering the world with your Putin-esque, machismo mojo.

      --
      I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
    3. Re:Practical by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 2

      I think this guy has a skewed idea of practical.

      It's all relative. This is at least conceivably practical for specialized, high-value uses. When you compare to earlier jet packs, which had similar cost and weight but lasted only three or four minutes, it's quite practical.

    4. Re:Practical by CAIMLAS · · Score: 2

      If you could get a single paramedic across town in 5 minutes, versus the time it'd take several to mount and spin up a helocopter, etc. this seems fairly practical to me. That said, a jetpack just seems impractical at this point - it's science fiction. We can't illicit enough thrust from something so compact as to be practical.

      That said, it's got a 30 mile range. They really need to think about a rotobird variant, either single or double blade. I'm guessing it could be done for less than $50k, bringing it well within range of the motorcycle/thrill seeker enthusiast...

      --
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    5. Re:Practical by RenderSeven · · Score: 2

      It *is* practical, if you are a narcissistic, sociopathic, self-anointed demigod, bent on showering the world with your Putin-esque, machismo mojo.

      So, for politicians, CEO's and actors?

    6. Re:Practical by jones_supa · · Score: 5, Funny

      30 minutes max... 400 pounds....

      A Pentium 4 laptop on battery?

    7. Re:Practical by dgatwood · · Score: 2

      The jetpack should provide more than enough thrust for a paramedic, a small bottle of oxygen, a handful of epi pens, and a portable AED. That rapid first response could be quite valuable in terms of stabilizing the patient in many cases even if it does still take a few extra minutes for the ambulance to arrive.

      That said, even in spite of that, the entire concept still borders on insane. :-)

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    8. Re:Practical by macson_g · · Score: 2

      anyone who lives within 6km of work now has a viable method of commuting that completely avoids traffic

      It's called 'bicycle', and it's slightly cheaper than 150k$.

  2. Re:It's not a jet pack by oodaloop · · Score: 2

    Yeah, more like a 400lb deathtrap with a seatbelt.

    --
    Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
  3. More like a ultralight helicopter by Animats · · Score: 4, Informative

    This thing is heavier than some ultralight helicopters.

    If you want an ultralight helicopter, they're available for as little as $6,000.

    1. Re:More like a ultralight helicopter by CanHasDIY · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This thing is heavier than some ultralight helicopters.

      If you want an ultralight helicopter, they're available for as little as $6,000.

      FYI, My wife will not be happy about you providing that link. You did a baaaaad thing :)

      I, on the other hand, can't think of a more fun way to get myself killed! Well, not for the low, low price of 6 grand, anyway.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    2. Re:More like a ultralight helicopter by RenderSeven · · Score: 4, Funny

      You can probably get one cheaper at the Estate Sale

  4. hmm by orbitalia · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Only it's not practical, a jet, or a pack.

    1. Re:hmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Also you can't put turbines in ground effect like that, they won't last 10 flights. A totally idiotic idea.

  5. Re:Could somebody... by capnkr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You'd better "earmark" a portion of that $150K for some serious hearing protection...

    Watched the video and *phew* is that thing ever noisy, and in a range which is bothersome - like an overlarge mosquito.

    --
    "...there are some things that can beat smartness and foresight. Awkwardness and stupidity can." ~ Mark Twain
  6. I'd rather have by ackthpt · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A portable, one man blimp with pedal power.

    just try to keep me out of your cactus farm now!

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  7. Re:Could somebody... by durrr · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's a ducted fanpack not a jetpack.
    Not to be mistaken for a ducted fannypack.

  8. oblig. haiku by avandesande · · Score: 2

    floating above earth
    ariel shriek of mower
    meet a grassy death

    --
    love is just extroverted narcissism
  9. Re:Could somebody... by RenderSeven · · Score: 3, Funny

    Sure! Please forward your name, social security number, and bank information and I'll have the funds transferred to, er, from Nigeria immediately.

  10. Awesome by TheSkepticalOptimist · · Score: 5, Funny

    Can't wait to take my jetpack to the Hyperloop station so I can commute to my job in Atlantis.

    --
    I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
  11. Math lesson by somepunk · · Score: 4, Funny

    Not practical for 99.999999999999999% of people.

    99% is all but one in a hundred, or 1e2.. add a power of ten for each 9, and you get.. 1e17, or all but 1 in 100 million billion. People? That's more people than ever existed. I think this thing is at least practical for the promoters, or at least whomever has been recieving the money they spend on devlopment and promotion. You'd still be off if you counted each person's individual cells.

    I could add more 9's

    No, you've added quite enough already.

    --
    Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. (Isaac Asimov)
  12. How is this better than an ultralight helicopter? by joe_frisch · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Look at the Mosquito aviation stuff: http://www.innovator.mosquito.net.nz/mbbs2/mosqspec.asp
    1 hour endurance at 70mph at 5 gph. 1/3 the horsepower and higher cruise speed.
    The mosquito costs $30K. for a kit, 200 hours build time.

    People build helicopters rather than lift-jets because moving a large volume of air slowly is more efficient than moving a small volume of air quickly. (force is goes as (M/s)*V, power as (M/s)*V^2).

    A compact jet pack you could wear would be great, the this isn't it.

  13. Re:It's not a jet pack by Trax3001BBS · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Just sayin'

    Yep, noticed that 33 seconds into the video when it didn't run out of fuel.

  14. Re:How is this better than an ultralight helicopte by Deadstick · · Score: 2

    I don't know what the jetpack does in the event of an engine failure.

    It does 32.174 feet per second squared.

  15. Re:What happens when it quits? by joe_frisch · · Score: 2

    Maybe it should include a "dispersal charge" that activates if the engine fails above 100' AGL to insure that no large pieces of machine or pilot reach the ground.....

  16. This is not a jet pack. by Karmashock · · Score: 3, Insightful

    To be a jet pack, I need to be able to carry it on my back. Walk around with it, and then take to the sky at will.

    That was the dream of the jet pack. That it would give a person the ability to walk around and then leap into the sky at will.

    This thing does fly... but you can't really walk with it.

    Its sort of like calling something a sea plane when it can't float. Yeah... it might fly... but... if it sinks when it hits the water its not a sea plane.

    This isn't a jet pack. Try again.

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  17. Re:It's not a jet pack by 91degrees · · Score: 2

    At least having a seatbelt makes it a safe deathtrap.