{"id":84223,"date":"2013-08-13T11:27:11","date_gmt":"2013-08-13T09:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=84223"},"modified":"2013-08-13T11:37:23","modified_gmt":"2013-08-13T09:37:23","slug":"martin-jetpack-cleared-for-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/technology\/84223-martin-jetpack-cleared-for-flight.html","title":{"rendered":"Martin Jetpack cleared for flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New Zealand developers of a personalised jetpack said Tuesday that aviation regulators have issued the device with a flying permit, allowing for manned test flights.<\/p>\n

Martin Aircraft chief executive Peter Coker said the certification was a significant milestone in the development of the jetpack, which the company hopes to begin selling next year.<\/p>\n

“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 commercialise and take forward very quickly,” Coker told AFP.<\/p>\n

The jetpack is the brainchild of inventor Glenn Martin, who began working on it in his Christchurch garage more than 30 years ago.<\/p>\n

Inspired by childhood television shows such as “Thunderbirds” and “Lost in Space”, Martin set out in the early 1980s to create a jetpack suitable for everyday use by ordinary people with no specialist pilot training.<\/p>\n

His jetpack consists of a pair of cylinders containing propulsion fans attached to a free-standing carbon-fibre frame.<\/p>\n

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Martin Jetpack P12<\/p><\/div>\n

The pilot backs into the frame, straps himself in and controls the wingless jetpack with two joysticks.<\/p>\n

While the jetpack’s concept is simple enough — Time magazine likened it to two enormous leaf blowers welded together — fine-tuning it into an aircraft that is safe and easy to use has been a lengthy process.<\/p>\n

Coker said the latest prototype, the P12, incorporated huge design improvements over earlier versions.<\/p>\n

“Changing the position of the jetpack’s ducts has resulted in a quantum leap in performance over the previous prototype, especially in terms of the aircraft’s manoeuvrability,” he said.<\/p>\n

Coker said a specialised version of the jetpack designed for the military and “first responder” emergency crews such as firefighters should be ready for delivery by mid-2014.<\/p>\n

A simpler model aimed at the general public is expected to be on the market in 2015.<\/p>\n

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Martin Jetpack P12 flying<\/p><\/div>\n

The price of your own personal flying machine is estimated at US$150,000-250,000, although Coker said the cost was likely to come down over time.<\/p>\n

It comes with a rocket-propelled parachute if anything goes wrong.<\/p>\n

In May 2011, a remote control Martin jetpack carrying a dummy pilot soared 1,500 metres (5,000 feet) above the South Island’s Canterbury Plains as its creator watched anxiously from a helicopter hovering nearby.<\/p>\n

The New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority said the jetpack had now been issued with an experimental flight permit for development test flying, which allows someone to pilot the aircraft.<\/p>\n

It said the test flights would be subject to strict safety requirements, with flights not allowed any higher than 20 feet (six metres) above the ground or 25 feet above water.<\/p>\n

The flights are also limited to test areas over uninhabited land.<\/p>\n