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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.
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.
I wouldn't use it without a parachute either.
A parachute will be particularly useless when the pilot loses control at 100 feet above ground and is headed down at 100 fps. It will be more of a shroud over the body than an actual "save the pilot" device. Its main safety function will be to keep passers-by from tossing their lunch from seeing the mangled splat.
And... I guess we're still calling it a "jetpack" even though it's just using turbofans? I guess there's no other commonly-known term to describe it?
I'd call it a personal helicopter.
If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
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.