After years of speculation and countless attempts by numerous individuals, the jetpack may finally be upon us. The Martin Jetpack, designed, engineered and built by the Martin Aircraft Company of New Zealand , recently released a video showing one its engineers performing a successful non-tethered, non-human assisted 1:20 minute flight performing varying flight maneuvers inside an indoor controlled test area. The video is extremely compelling and shows the viability of their design. Could this be a harbinger of things to come? The Aviation world will never be the same.

First seen in 2008 at the Oshkosh Air show in Wisconsin flying a few feet off the ground, the Martin Jetpack was extremely wobbly and required close attention by two human counterparts for stability and control. Fast forward almost a year and the difference is astounding, the Jetpack now demonstrates rock solid stability, full yaw, pitch and roll flight controls and human intervention no longer required. Perhaps, all that is left, is to have someone take off and disappear over the horizon; maybe at Oshkosh 2009?

Either way, we can’t wait…


Download The Martin Jetpack Specifications