I don’t think anyone could have predicted that the jetpack revolution would originate in New Zealand yet, here we are. The Christchurch-based Martin Aircraft Company (yes, the same guys who are outfitting firefighters in Dubai with their hardware) is preparing a public demo of its jetpack next month in China and has kindly filmed its contraption in action for our benefit.
What you’re seeing here is the company’s P12 jetpack soaring through the skies — though admittedly not that far up. While the dude in the clip doesn’t take the 320kg (fully loaded) device into the stratosphere, it can get up to 3000 feet (914m) and cruise around for 30 minutes on 45L of regular petrol.
In that time the 150kW engines will take you a good 30-50km, depending on if you’re going all out (74km/h) or just enjoying the views (56km/h).
I still think it’ll be some time before we’re all zipping through the air. As Mitchell and Webb once demonstrated in skit form, you can’t just start selling jetpacks and expect everyone not to kill themselves.
[YouTube]
Originally posted on Gizmodo.
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