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.
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.
Coker said the latest prototype, the P12, incorporated huge design improvements over earlier versions.
"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.
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.
A simpler model aimed at the general public is expected to be on the market in 2015.
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.
It comes with a rocket-propelled parachute if anything goes wrong.
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.
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.
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.
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