Comment by Dan "HotSeat" Neault on April 4, 2012 at 7:16am

He should take that sweet little motor of his, and put it in a motorcycle, then I'd buy one :)

 

Comment by Ellison Chan on April 4, 2012 at 7:42am

But I thought they already flew about 5000ft?

Distributor Comment by Dany Thivierge on April 4, 2012 at 8:00am

looks like he has some drift.... send him the compass correction code! :) 

Comment by Philippe Petit on April 4, 2012 at 9:01am

According to their website they achieved the following demonstration:

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

• In 1998 an independent expert verified the theoretical design and performance models for the production of a practical ‘Jetpack’ system.

• In late 2005, Prototype 9 achieved sustained controlled flight.
   
• July 2008: The Martin Jetpack was showcased in a worldwide launch in the USA, attracting unprecedented worldwide interest and media coverage including a front page photo and article in the New York Times and 970 TV appearances in the first 24 hours.
   
• August 2009: First 5 minute manned flight.
   
• May 2010: The first Remotely Controlled flight was carried out.
   
• November 2010: Time magazine listed the Martin Jetpack as one of the Top 50 Inventions of the year.
   
• June 2011: The aircraft was flown up to 5000ft above sea level. 
   
• September 2011: The aircraft was flown at over 50kph.

Comment by Jack Crossfire on April 4, 2012 at 12:07pm

Still remote control only.  Let's see him gamble his iphone on it.

Comment by Ellison Chan on April 4, 2012 at 12:24pm

That's the problem.  Any loss of power means major injury or death.  You need to be at high altitude for the chute to be useful.  You can die falling from under 100 ft.

Comment by Dan Wilson on April 4, 2012 at 10:25pm

Jack I believe the system is completely computer stabilised. The ground pilot is providing pitch, roll, yaw rate and vertical velocity set points.

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