Christchurch inventor unveils jetpack

Last updated 23:22 29/07/2008

The Press

FLYING HIGH: Glenn Martin was due to unveil the "world's first practical jetpack" at the annual EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in the United States, overnight. Martin, a former research biochemist, has devoted almost 30 years to inventing a jetpack that flies for up to 30 minutes, 100 times longer than its predecessor, the Bell Rocket Belt.

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Christchurch inventor Glenn Martin today launched "the world's first practical jetpack'' - flown by his 16-year-old son Harrison - at a big American airshow.

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Martin, 48, plans to start selling the "personal flying machine'' made by his Martin Aircraft Company Ltd for $US100,000 ($NZ137,000) each, and was today taking $US10,000 deposits from buyers.

But today's demonstration in front of thousands of flight enthusiasts at the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) AirVenture 2008 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was restricted by American aviation officials to staying only a metre or so off the ground.

"This is a proof-of-concept vehicle, experimental with a big `E','' said Mr Martin, a biochemist who worked on it for 27 years in his garage.

"It's still a newborn baby.''

Martin's first test pilot was his wife Vanessa: "I used to leave our seven-week-old baby (William) in the house, run out to the garage, have the jetpack strapped on my back, test it, then run back into the house again,'' she said.

Today Mrs Martin stood by proudly as the couple's oldest son, Harrison, strapped into the machine and wearing a crash helmet with a face shield and a fireproof flight suit, repeatedly revved the engine, which roared like a motorcycle, to warm it up.

Other test pilots have so far included helicopter pilots, and former military pilots who have commanded Harrier jump jets capable of vertical takeoffs, the Chicago Tribune reported.

"At first the jetpack dream for me was like a lot of people,'' Mr Martin told spectators at the airshow.

"When I was five-years-old, I was watching the Jetsons, Lost in Space and all those television shows, and I wanted a jetpack. Unfortunately, by the time I turned 21, I realised there weren't any jetpacks around.''

He found the Bell company had invented a Bell Rocketbelt, but it could only fly for 27 seconds with a full tank of fuel so dangerous that NASA stopped using it.

"So with far too much time on my hands at university, I decided to research it and design something that would solve all those problems. After 27 years and 11 prototypes, we've got to the point now where all those issues are gone.

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"We've now got something where you can strap on and fly for up to 30 minutes,'' Martin said.

New Scientist reported applications for the pack might include search-and-rescue operations and firefighting, but Mr Martin said: ``People will use it for fun, as a jetski or snowmobile for the sky''.

The 113kg pack is designed to lift a pilot vertically, and pitching it forwards slightly will allow it to move horizontally at nearly 100kmh.

The pack is run by a 200 horsepower water-cooled, piston engine, similar to a car, driving downward-facing fans on either side of the pilot. Flaps at the bottom of the fans are used to direct air and steer.

The jetpack also contains safety features, including a parachute which can be used as low as 30m from the ground.