kiwis eh?

Jetpack From New Zealand Takes Off

Billed as the world's first practical jetpack, the device created by New Zealand inventor Glenn Martin is due to be unveiled today (7/29/2008).

(Kiwi jetpack by Glenn Martin)

Martin states that he has spent 27 years designing and perfecting his jetpack. It stands about five feet tall and its rotors are encased in two large ducts; a three-legged tripod holds it at rest when on the ground. A 200 horsepower gasoline engine provides power to the rotors.

“If someone says, ‘I’m not going to buy a jetpack until it’s the size of my high school backpack and has a turbine engine in it,’ that’s fine,” Martin said. “ But they’re not going to be flying a jetpack in their lifetime.”