Jet Packs Finally On Sale!

nrj

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To some extent, everyone's in the market for a jet pack. But since Bell Labs built the first rocket belt (the correct, if less exciting, name) in 1953, potential buyers have been stymied by two problems: Rocket belts aren't for sale, and even prototypes run on modern-day fuel (as opposed to whatever the Jetsons use) — which means rocket belts can weigh upwards of 100 pounds, with only enough fuel to stay aloft for under a minute. Now, a pair of companies have solved one of these problems — rocket belts are for sale.

Mexican start-up Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana (TAM) offers its custom-built TAM Rocket Belt for $250,000, which includes flight and maintenance training. On a full tank of hydrogen peroxide the belt weighs 124 to 139 pounds (the bigger the pilot, the bigger the belt), and provides 30 seconds of flight. TAM's sole competitor is Jetpack InterÂ*national, a Colorado-based company that sells what it calls "the world's longest-flying jet pack." Technically speaking, it's true — the hydrogen-peroxide-burning Jet Pack H202 can stay in the air for 33 seconds, 3 seconds longer than TAM's model. The H202 weighs 139 pounds, and is competitively priced at $155,000, flight classes and all.

Jetpack International founder Troy Widgery is the first to point out the drawbacks of current short-flight rocket belts. "If something goes wrong, you can get killed," Widgery says. "Thirty-three seconds of fuel makes an inexperienced pilot twitchy." The solution? Ditch the rocket belt, and build a bona fide jet pack (okay, jet belt). Widgery plans to release the T73 Turbine by the end of the year; it's a $200,000 model that will burn jet fuel, allowing it to stay airborne for 19 minutes. Not to be outdone, TAM is working on a propane-burning jet belt, though it hasn't said when it will be available. While swapping inert hydrogen peroxide for propane or Jet-A fuel has obvious drawbacks, jet belts would be, for many, a childhood dream come true. "With 19 minutes you can take things slower," Widgery says. "You aren't spending the whole flight thinking about where to land." We'll take his word for it.



TAM ROCKET BELT <--- MODEL
More than 60 mph <--- TOP SPEED
30 seconds <--- FLIGHT TIME
$250,000 <--- PRICE

JET PACK H202 <--- MODEL
70 mph <--- TOP SPEED
33 seconds <--- FLIGHT TIME
$155,000 <--- PRICE

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nrj

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Nice. But the flight time is very low.
Yeah flight time is low :( May be next gen propane jet belts can do some gud on that...

But still Jetpack has been cooolest transport means ever... Its like Jetsons coming alive...
 

plugwater

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Haha. I agree on the coolest part. Hopefully the design evolve like this.
 
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nrj

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^^^ Yeah! I watched that movie Kick-ass. Its really cool!!
Maybe IAF/IA should work on this ...!
 

plugwater

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^^^ Yeah! I watched that movie Kick-ass. Its really cool!!
Maybe IAF/IA should work on this ...!
I really dont think this will be much helpful to army and airforce.
 

nrj

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I really dont think this will be much helpful to army and airforce.
I Was joking mate.
its zillion years away from becoming part of military... dddddddddddddddddddd
 

DaRk WaVe

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just 33 seconds flight time :-(

flight time annihilated my dreams :-(
 

nrj

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Jet pack with 30 mins flight time!

It's been a long time coming. While Arthur C. Clarke's satellites have taken to space, and James Bond's futuristic mobile technology has become common place, still the dream of sustained personal flight has eluded us. But the future is here! Finally we can all take flight as Martin Aircraft in New Zealand releases the first commercially-available jet pack!



Like many science fiction concepts, the jetpack design has become firmly entrenched in the collective psyche: ask anyone to draw you a jetpack and they will give you a man with two fiery pods strapped to his back gravitating him skyward. We owe much of this to James Bond's Thunderball, which served to advertise the most successful of all the jetpack inventions; the Bell Rocket Belt.

Developed by the U.S. military in 1961 with the aim of producing an all-terrain vehicle to move military commanders around a battlefield, the Bell Rocket Belt could only maintain flight for 26 seconds on a full tank of fuel. After the film was released the subsequent clamoring for sales only served to prove what a marketable product a jetpack might be if one could be properly developed. Sadly with such limited application the Bell Rocket Belt was consigned merely to film work and TV appearances.

More recently, aside from the exploits of a brave few like Yves Rossy, attempts to realize a one-person flying machine ranging from flying exoskeletons to ion-propelled and water-drive technology have failed to gain momentum.

In 1998 and Martin Aircraft of Christchurch New Zealand was formed with the specific aim to build a jetpack that improved on the Bell Rocket Belt's record fly time by 100 times. The concept, developed by Glenn Martin, manager of Martin Aircraft in 1981, was verified by the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Since then nine prototypes have been developed and it is lucky number nine that in 2005 broke the mold and achieve sustained flight times.



The Jetpack is constructed from carbon fiber composite, has a dry weight of 250 lbs (excluding safety equipment) and measures 5 ft high x 5.5 ft wide x 5 ft long. It's driven by a 2.0 L V4 2 stroke engine rated at 200 hp (150 kw), can reach 8000 ft (estimated) and each of the two 1.7 ft wide rotors is made from carbon / Kevlar composite.

There is always risk associated with flying so Martin Aircraft has been careful to equip the pack with redundant systems that will take over in the event that the main system goes down. If a crash-landing is required, a pilot-operated toggle will rapidly fire a small amount of propellant deploying a ballistic parachute (similar to a car airbag) which will allow the pilot and jetpack to descend together. It also has an impact-absorbing carriage, patented fan jet technology and 1000 hours engine TBO (Time Between Overhaul). Small vertical take-off and landing aircraft (VTOL) are not subject to the same limitations as other helicopters and fixed wing aircrafts but Martin Aircraft have built it to comply with ultralight regulations and therefore suggest it as at least as safe to operate, and claim it is the safest of all jetpacks yet built.

The Jetpack achieves with 30 minutes of flight time and is fueled by regular premium gasoline, though you will undoubtedly earn some disbelieving stares at the petrol station. Since it has been built according to ultralight regulations no FAA recognized pilot's license is required to fly one in the U.S., though this will depend on a country's specific requirements. However, despite being significantly less complex than a helicopter to fly as pitch and roll are controlled by one hand, thrust and yaw by the other, Martin Aircraft won't let anyone take receipt of their jetpack before completing their specially-developed Martin Aircraft Company approved training program. The pilot must also weigh between 140-240 lbs.



After nine prototypes Martin Aircraft have an accurate expectation for how much a jetpack will cost, and suggest that at $86,000 it is pitched at the level of a high-end car. As sales and production volume increase they expect this to drop to the price of a mid-range car. A 10% deposit buys you a production slot for 12 months hence; progress payments are made during manufacture with final payment due on delivery. Details and a deposit contract are available from their Martin Aircraft's website.

And when will I be able drive it to work? Again it's a waiting game as currently air traffic control technology is not yet advanced enough to cope with jetpacks, but the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is developing "highways in the sky" technology - 3D highways based on GPS tracks. Initial tests have been positive but the technology is unlikely to be implemented for another 10 years yet so for the meantime initial use will remain recreational as with jet-skis, snowmobiles and ultralights. Until then we'll keep waiting and watching the sky...

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nrj

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We Got Your Bikini-Ready Jetpack Right Here!

More and more companies are going into the jetpack business. Yes, the jetpack business. You know, jetpacks—those icons of the future, of Star Wars, those personal transportation machines we weren't supposed to have. But lo! There are jetpacks being tested right now, around the world, as we speak—some even by people not old enough to drive! A U.S.-German company called JetLev-Flyer has developed a water-powered jetpack that it's taking pre-orders for and says it will begin delivering in June. Price? A mere 129,000 euros. Obviously, who needs electric cars when you can have ... a dang jetpack!

Also, if the video above is any indication, the JetLev-Flyer is safe to use while wearing a bikini.


And this, too, is important, from JetLev-Flyer's Web site:

Q: Are there any age limits?
A: Yes. You must be 18 years or over. The oldest Jetlev pilot to-date was 67. If you are 82, healthy and in good physical condition, there is no reason why you could not fly.

So why all this jetpack action? Um, because ... people. Want. Jetpacks! =xD

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The video is supercool & so is the jetpack!! :):)
 
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nrj

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JetPack-Man !

 
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Jetpacks for US Military?

A New Zealand company founded by a garage inventor says it is in talks to sell its so-called "Jetpack" - actually a personal ducted-fan aircraft too heavy to be lifted by its user - to the US military.

The New Zealand Herald reported at the weekend that inventor Glenn Martin, founder of the Christchurch-based Martin Aircraft Company, says his firm is in talks with the US Defense Department.

"We're already dealing with Rockwell Collins. We've got conversations going with [Boeing, Raytheon and Rockwell Collins] and more, in particular those conversations are being led by the US Department of Defence," he told the paper.

Martin invented his "Jetpack" in his garage, and has been working on it for decades. Weighing well over 250lb, it is in fact much too heavy to realistically be described as a "pack" - rather it is a small aircraft which you strap into, as opposed to strapping on.

Nor does the Jetpack feature any jets, instead using a two-stroke engine to power two large ducted fans. A better name for it would be "blower-throne" or somesuch, though this would obviously forfeit a lot of marketing impact.

The Jetpack, despite not being a jet or a pack, shot to global fame during the terrible summer news drought of 2008 after a New York Times scribe had a hover about in it at a US airshow.

Since then Martin and his colleagues have predictably struggled to stimulate any serious interest in their machine. The New Zealand government's Foundation for Research, Science and Technology has chipped in NZ$1m, and the firm says it has received $12m for manufacturing and distribution rights in an unnamed foreign nation. The company also claims that as many as 1,600 people have "expressed interest" in buying a Jetpack for $140,000 each.

However the foreign rights sale last year was described as insufficient to actually get the Jetpack into manufacture by Martin Aircraft chief exec Richard Lauder, who stated at the time that the cash "will give us a lifeline but it doesn't give us the sort of venture capital we need".

It's always possible that the US military might want the "Jetpack" for some reason, but it's hard to see why. There are already various working one-man aircraft which offer superior portability and would be just as good for most jobs - and the US military isn't interested in those, either. The Herald writeup reports suggestions by Martin and Lauder that an unmanned version might be on the cards, but again there are many proper, working VTOL UAVs already available.

The credence of the supposed defence-department talks was also rather undermined by apparent differences of opinion between Martin and Lauder on the desirability of military sales, with Martin saying he would be "pretty pissed off" if his invention wound up being used to carry weapons.

Reportedly, Martin Aircraft is also considering raising funds by going public in the near future. The Reg jetpack and flying-car desk market analysts would unhesitatingly award any such stock a solid "bumwad from the bank of toyland" rating.

'Jetpack' inventors: US military showing interest. Honest "¢ The Register
 

plugwater

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Another cheap way to fly !!!




 
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