No matter how ridiculously advanced technology becomes, it still never quite feels like we’re living in the future. We have supercomputers in our pockets, autonomous robotic vacuums, and can control our surroundings with nothing more than our brainwaves – but in spite of all these incredible advances, I still don’t feel like I’m living in that Jetsons-style technological utopia we were promised. Why? Because no matter how many Roombas I’ve got cleaning my floors, it just isn’t the future without hovercars and jetpacks.
Plain and simple, we are not living in the future until we can all zip around in our own personal gravity-defying contraptions, but thanks to the good folks at Martin Aircraft Company in New Zealand, that sci-fi dream may soon come true. For the past few decades founder Glenn Martin and his company have been developing, testing, and refining an experimental aircraft that they’re touting as “the first practical jetpack.”
The word “practical” seems like a bit of a stretch considering that one of these badboys will cost over 150K, but the machines do appear to be pretty capable. Inside the P12’s snazzy carbon-fiber composite frame sits a gasoline-fueled, 200-horsepower engine that powers a pair of carbon-Kevlar rotors. These engines can reportedly take a pilot up to 5000 feet high and will run for up to 30 minutes – and it’s even got a parachute built in just in case the whole thing craps out on you mid-flight.
Find out more at MartinJetpack.com
