I could feel the tears of joy welling up as I read this article from the Yahoo shopping pages link. Yes, the shopping pages as in "You can buy your own Jet Pack TODAY!!"Well maybe in 2 years. According to the Martin Aircraft Company website, the craft is powered by a 200hp 2.0 liter V4 gasoline engine. It will have a maximum ceiling of 8,000 ft and a range of about 31 miles, limited by the 5 gallon gas tank.
The limit is imposed by the FAA FAR-103 regulation, the same one that governs the ultralight planes that Pop and I have been to see. Aircraft that meet the FAR 103 restrictions can be operated without a pilot license.
So we can ALL have our own Jet Packs.
I'm not sure I can wait 2 years. The Martin craft is engineered with safety features and enough power to lift over 300 lbs. I think by modifying a couple of 2 cycle weed whackers I should be able to generate some pretty good lift. Maybe not enough to fly to 8,000 feet. What it if could lift say, 150 pounds? Then I could giant-leap to work as if my constant nemesis, gravity, hardly mattered at all.Check out the videos of the test flights on the Martin Aircraft Company website.
