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World's First Commercial Jetpack Arrives Next Year
An anonymous reader writes: The good news is that soon, you'll finally be able to buy that jetpack you've always wanted. The bad news is that it'll run you about $150,000. The Martin Jetpack will use fans, rather than rockets, to lift humans weighing up to 120kg (~256 lbs). Its makers say it can reach altitudes of up to 1 kilometer, and fly for up to 30 minutes at a time. The jetpack will be sold commercially to emergency services next year, and then a smaller, personal version will hit the market in 2017.
So basically half of Americans are excluded. Got it.
On a more serious note, there is NO WAY I'd do it. Not because it wouldn't be cool to fly through the air, I'd love that part...
...It is the landing on the rock hard ground I'm concerned about.
//TODO: Think of witty sig statement
Same company promised it'd be ready all ready. If it works and does go to market, good someone finally succeeded in making a jetpack. Until then, it's just a small-minded person's flying car pipe dream.
You were critically hit for no damage. The bruise will look nice, and maybe the scars will make good party talk.
asked walter Cronkite many, many years ago.
It is more like a ducted fan flying platform that the pilot is strapped to. This is closer to a Hiller VZ-1 Pawnee direct lift aircraft than a jetpack.
And cue the screams of the people who think they can just buy one, strap it on, and ascend to 1km ... without a pilot's license. For yes, even more so than for drones, these will be classified as manned aircraft and there are already tons of federal regulations regarding operations of such.
Thanks for the free microsoft cloud advertising slashdot you get down in the pit near sourceforge dead corpse.
I am leaving this site. Fuck you slashdot !!!
...since Tomorrowland was such a shank job. Like 'more cow bell' solved SNL's problems: More jetpacks, disney!
fixed the title for ya.
Sorry, this reeks of BS marketing. You're telling me they can't provide more than 2 seconds of footage of this thing actually flying. Total BS. I have my airman's certificate and I can tell you that anytime there has been a "true" innovation and no video it's total BS.
Ducted fan starp on, best fanny pack ever.
Sure it's not as cool as a real jet or rocket but I want one.
Didn't see any specs on range/endurance. Still I want one.
No brain, no pain.
Soo basically, if you think Uber is a transportation problem right now just wait until people are flying around in their personal aircrafts - how will the police pull us over then?
Just like Moller and his never-to-be-seen "SkyCar" this too is a pipe dream. I remember seeing a version of this thing back in 1997 or so, but the ducted fans were over the guys shoulders. Never made it anywhere, either.
The payload will always be too small since there is no extra space for the gear a "first responder" would be needing, the FAA is so backlogged in everything right now the chances of it getting flight worthiness is minimal, and the "consumer version"? HA! LOL!!! Just like the 200-mile range $35K electric car Musk has been promising. Well, no - I take that back. This concept ranks just about dead center of the "Duke Nukem Forever" vs. "Moller SkyCar" scale.
Feasible? Maybe, will we see it in our lifetime for anything under $500K (screw the $150K crap)... Not bloody likely...
Bringing a whole new meaning to the word drone.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
I just can't wait to see how this turns out!
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
It's NOT a jetpack - it uses propellers and internal combustion
It's not a "pack" (as-in backpack) that you slip on with some straps, it's a small cockpit-less helicopter that you strap yourself to the nose of as suposedly a better alternative to strapping yourself into a seat behind a windscreen. Oh, and it lacks the primary safety function of a helicopter, the ability to auto-rotate
It's not really commercial in any sense yet. What licensing is needed? It's probably not certified for operation as a commercial vehicle yet it's not cheap enough to be sold to the masses commercially and probably never will be (it has a huge price tag inflation built-in to cover the massive costs of FAA certification, and they'd have to sell many thousands of them to get that down)
Let's hold off on "jetpack" excitement until somebody produces a pack like that shown in the popcorn film "The Rocketeer", which is what MOST people think the term "jetpack" means. Until that time, it's fine to get excited about any new gear like this, but let's keep the discussion tethered to reality.
They have a specially designed ultra low altitude chute. It is fired from a mortar, and gets blown into a nearly open canopy shape by the blast that deploys it.
Doesn't need hundreds of feet of freefall to inflate it.
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No well dressed man should be without one.
Now you'll have people flying in on these things, getting into situations that they're unprepared for and they'll need rescuing as well. I'm waiting for the first time one of these falls out of the sky and kills somebody on the ground. It'll be a field day for the lawyers. Preparing popcorn now...
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
They should put some grills before someone loses an hand
I'm sure many others will point this out, but don't call it a jet pack if it's not a jet pack! I guess I'll call my Mini Copper a flying car since I can drive it on the high way too.
The only thing worse than a Democrat is a Republican.
The video shows floods, earthquake areas, even people trapped in burning buildings. And they talk about how these machines are somehow going to help.
Here's the problem:
(Flooded area...Jetpack Guy flies in near house with a family of 4 on top of it, as the flood waters rise...)
Jetpack Guy: "Hey, you guys look like you could use a little help!"
Family of 4: "Yeah,we sure could, Jetpack Guy! How about you fly us to safety?"
Jetpack Guy: "Ah, sorry about that...I've only got a weight limit of about 250 pounds, and on top of that, the weight would destabilize the pack. How about I just keep you company until you drown?"
(Earthquake-ravaged area...Jetpack Guy flies into the city, and lands...)
Jetpack Guy: "Hey, you guys look like you could use a little help!"
Earthquake Survivors: "Yeah, we sure could, Jetpack Guy! How about some food, water, shelter, or sanitation? Or equipment so we can rescue people trapped under tons of rubble? Fortunately, most of us are still alive, and we've got manpower to spare, but all basic services have been wiped out and there are people buried alive who need to be excavated!"
Jetpack Guy: "Ah, sorry about that...I've only got a weight limit of about 250 pounds, so all I could bring was these two shovels. How about I just keep you company for a while? It's not like one more person will add an extra burden to the lack of food, drinking water, or sanitation...right?"
Yeah, thanks a lot, Jetpack Guy. Fuckin' prick.
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Would be great for commuting from NJ to NYC. I imagine the FAA and Homeland Security won't be allow it though. But if they did, at $150,000? WORTH IT.
It's still cool and all, but it is not a flying car.
I can use it as the only way to get into my secret island fortress?
Emergencies could potential use them, but smaller and lighter for a single person, or it needs to be able to carry at least a second passenger, so you're looking at 300-500 lbs carry weight to be truly useful. Then in hard to reach places, they can actually bring someone down.
guess fashion is doubling back on us.
$50m investment from Chinese aerospace company Kuang-Chi Science.
For once, it looks like the tech is for real.
This is as similar to a jetpack as those ridiculous mini-airplanes with folding wings are to flying cars. In both cases, the message is the same as it has been for 70 years: we do not yet have the technology. We can (and we will) come up with more ridiculous, marginally useful contraptions like those over the years, but they are not the real thing, and they will never be until new, still undreamed-of technologies are developed.
Its a wearable helicopter. Its also so big and bulky that it isn't especially portable.
The concept of a jet pack was supposed to be a backpack a guy puts on flies around... and then walks inside with the pack... not even bothering to take it off because it isn't an encumbrance.
That thing is f'ing huge.
Even at 25 percent of its current size it would be annoying.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
It's a bit generous to call it a "pack." More like a small hovercraft than a jetpack. But hey, you gotta start somewhere. Looking forward to when the Jonny Quest jetpacks come out.
wow, its finally come true. What we see in the movies and TV does come true http://www.dailymotion.com/vid...
That's not a jetpack... that's a fanpack.
Hehheh...it looks similar to the jetpack in the Simpsons episode Sky Police (S26E16).
Unfortunately, the Martin Jetpack arrives without Mr Martin who recently quickly left the company with the parting words "don't fuck it up."
He worked for decades to design and develop his dream but saw his dream of a personal device end up a lot more corporate/military/industrial than he envisaged. He left because it wasn't fun to run a company like that - it was more fun to build the dream.
If $150k is the target, and they miss by a factor of two, they could still scale to 4x the thrust and put an enclosed 2/4 seater with a 1000# payload for under a million.
Stability, flight dynamics, and structures have come a long way since Moller bilked investors for millions. Possibly to the point where it's actually feasible to build the aircar he couldn't.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
And this one is family-sized?
So they're saying prior non-commercial Jet-Packs were industrial strength?
Tracy Johnson
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"It's three hundred thousand bucks."
"Can you think of anything else you'd rather spend it on?"
"Oooohhhhhhhh, my gosh. That is cool." :)
"Yeah!"
"Add to shopping cart."