World's First "Practical" Jetpack Approved For Test Flights

New Zealand firm Martin Aircraft Company has been given permission by the country's Civil Aviation Authority to conduct manned test flights on what it claims is the world's first practical jetpack.

Speaking to international news agency AFP about the announcement, Martin Jetpack CEO Peter Coker said: "For us it's a very important step because it moves it out of what I call a dream into something which I believe we're now in a position to commercialise and take forward very quickly."

The company's latest jetpack design, named the P12, has a lightweight carbon fibre body. Despite the name, the Martin Jetpack doesn't actually use jets to fly but is propelled by a gasoline engine and two cylinders with twin ducted fans, which give it enough thrust to lift off the ground at 13 feet per second, as high as 8,000 feet in the air. Though test flights will be restricted to a height of six metres (20 feet) and must be conducted above uninhabited ground and can stay aloft for up to half an hour.

Martin Jetpack P12 prototype is propelled by a gasoline engine and two cylinders with twin ducted fans

It can then cruise for 30 minutes at max speed of around 60 mph; an automated hover function makes it easy to fly, controlled by joysticks, according to the company.

Martin Jetpack P12 can cruise for 30 minutes at max speed of around 60 mph

It protects the pilot with the inclusion of a ballistic parachute and a crumple undercarriage, will be able to take off from small spaces and is expected to fly in reasonable weather conditions.

Martin Aircraft Company has been developing the Martin Jetpack for 30 years and this ruling could help it meet its target of providing working 'first responder' jetpacks to the military and emergency services by mid-2014. The goal of creating a craft would be easy to control and could mimic the futuristic contraptions he saw on shows like Lost in Space.

Martin Aircraft Company hopes to release a commercial jetpack in 2015, with an estimated price of US$150,000-250,000 (£96,000-160,000).

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World's First "Practical" Jetpack Approved For Test Flights