Is Jet Pack Travel Almost a Reality?
A device that has been billed as “the worlds first practical jet pack”, has been unveiled at the Wisconsin air show by its designer Glenn Martin.In front of thousands of people, Martin’s 16-year-old son, Harrison, put on a helmet and climbed into the harness of the bulky contraption - with the help of two people. Revving the loud engine, he climbed to three feet and hovered for 45-seconds before touching back down to earth. The crowd went wild.
“Wow, that went better than expected,” the elder Martin said afterwards. “People will look back on this as a moment in history.”
Theoretically capable of flying an average-sized pilot 30 miles in 30 minutes on a full tank of fuel, the Martin Jet Pack carries five gallons. The inventor, 48, has been working on the craft for nearly 30 years, plans to start selling them next year for around ?50,000.
Whether it will catch on remains to be seen given its cost, and federal rules restricting the use of such devices to, “sport or recreational purposes” and barring them from congested areas.
The device is controlled by a joystick and weighs less than 254 pounds (115 kilograms) and capable of carrying only one passenger - so it won’t requires a pilot’s licence.
Rather than a pack, the craft contains two large, high-powered downward thrusting propellers powered by a 200-horsepower petrol driven engine. The propellers push the device and its pilot off the ground. So far it hasn’t been flown above a height of six feet, although it carries a parachute for emergencies.
Martin is already taking orders for models he hopes to sell next year. He hopes the jet pack will start out as a plaything for the wealthy before law enforcement officials take an interest after seeing it in operation.
Scientists and inventors have long tried to develop a successful jet pack akin to those used by James Bond in Thunderball or Buck Rogers. Two other companies - one in Mexico, one in Colorado - are also trying to market jet packs or rocket belts.
“There is nothing that even comes close to the dream that the jetpack allows you to achieve,” Robert Thompson, director of the Centre for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, told the New York Times. It is “about the coolest desire left to mankind.”
