Jetpack travel a step closer after 3000ft test flight

Jetpack travel could be a step closer after a New Zealand inventor sent a machine 3000ft into the air and then parachuted it back to earth in one piece.

Kiwi Glenn Martin, from Christchurch in the South Island, has been developing his jetpack for 20 years and now believes there could be a commerically viable product within 18 months.

Although the packs would be available for individuals to buy he says the company's first aim is to produce them for search and rescue operations and military use.

During last month's record-breaking flight a crash test dummy was strapped into the machine, which was piloted remotely from a helicopter that accompanied the jetpack as it rose to 3000ft above ground. After 10 minutes of continuous climbing a parachute was detonated.

The Martin Aircraft Company says that it was the first time that a jetpack had flown above 150ft and the first time one had deployed a parachute. The pack was slightly damaged in the landing but the company said a human pilot would have walked away.

The next stage is to undertake a similar test with a human operating the personal flying machine.

The jetpack uses a petrol-driven engine to power two fans, which provide enough thrust to lift a pilot off the ground vertically and then fly for 30 minutes. ·