Imagine taking off and flying around the sky without a fuselage, wings or even so much as a framework around you. Flying with a jetpack is not a new concept. Jetpacks have been a reality for decades, but the technology has never reached a point of being commercially viable.
A company called JetPack Aviation hopes to change that with its JB-9. Piloted by the company’s CEO and test pilot David Mayman, the JB-9 flew over the Hudson River yesterday, a flight to New York that was recorded in the video below.
The JB-9 was developed by Mayman and his partner Nelson Tyler who has been working for decades with jetpacks in the movie industry. The company claims the JB-9 is fast, powerful, safe and practical. It is small enough to fit in the back of a car, yet it is powerful enough to reach a few thousand feet. The jetpack can take off and land vertically, hover and cruise.
“Today is just the beginning,” said Mayman after the flight. “We have established the company JetPack Aviation to continue R&D and commercialize our invention. We have just proved that personal flight is a reality; it’s here, and we will stay at the forefront of this.”
Check out Mayman’s flight to New York here.
