David Mayman, an Australian entrepreneur, showed off his latest contraption by flying it around the Statue of Liberty.
The JB-9 jetpack is the result of 10 years' worth of hard work by Mayman and his co-partner Nelson Tyler, a Hollywood actor. Running off just two kerosene-fueled engines, it can reach heights of up to 3,048 meters (10,000 feet) and speeds of 160 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour). Although, it only runs for 10 minutes, so watch your gas meter.
“It was an incredible experience, one I have been dreaming of since I was a young boy, it’s the culmination of decades of work by Nelson and me. But today is just the beginning,” Mayman said on the JackPack Aviation website.
“We have established the company JetPack Aviation to continue R&D and commercialize our invention. We have just proved that personal flight is a reality, it’s here and we will stay at the forefront of this,” he added.
“It would be wonderful if one day this opens the door to a vast new industry of affordable personal air transportation with applications for search and rescue, law enforcement, disaster relief and recreation. We will continue to develop the technology and have already created an extraordinary machine, truly the only jetpack in the world,” Tyler concluded.
The invention was granted flight approval by the Federal Aviation Administration. However, due to obvious safety issues, it's doubtful that the wider population will be flying around in these things anytime soon.
1