The Future Now: Jetpacks to Go on Sale Late This Year
After nearly 30 years in development, New Zealand's Martin Aircraft Company is finally gearing up to sell its jetpack: two rockets driven by a 2-liter, 200-horsepower engine that can theoretically take you as high as 8,000 feet.
The company is currently taking commercial orders, but Martin expects it will be selling the devices to individuals late this year.
With a range of 31 miles and a maximum speed of 63 miles per hour, you'll be able to jaunt to the store at will, or to the gas station for a fill-up. That's right, Martin's jetpack uses ordinary gasoline, not jet or rocket fuel.
The future is now, though it'll cost you around $100,000. So why buy a jetpack rather than, say, a midsize sailboat or a high-performance motorcycle?
Assuming you fit Martin Aircraft's description of the ideal flyer -- meaning you weigh between 140 and 240 pounds -- will you be able to strap yourself in and fly to the corner store for a half-gallon of milk and some chips?
Maybe. The FAA dictates that you won't be able to fly at night -- jetpacks are allowed only from dawn to dusk. But that's OK: The Martin jetpack doesn't have any operating lights.
The FAA also wags its finger at flying in town, warning that "no person may operate an ultralight vehicle over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons." And a slew of complicated regulations dictate how high you can fly, based on the visibility of clouds.
So owning a jetpack won't all be fun and games if the FAA ultralight regulations apply. If not, anything goes.
There's one more perk to flying over driving: You won't have to insure your jetpack. In fact, you probably won't even be able to. Companies like Avemco, which offers direct-to-customer insurance for private aircraft owners, have no plans to step into jetpack insurance.
foxnews
