Yes, You Can Fly

Move over Superman, here comes...You! Your dream to fly will no longer just be a dream with the Martin Jetpack.

It has long been a fascination in James Bond movies but in reality it never really got off ground.

Until now. Glenn Martin believes he has come up with a one-man flying machine that actually works. The Martin Jet Pack has made its public debut at AirVenture, the world’s biggest air show.

It didn’t travel very far (50ft), very high (6ft), or for very long (45 seconds) but that wasn’t the purpose of the exercise, according to its inventor.

‘I wanted to prove that the technology works,’ said Mr Martin. ‘Six feet or 600ft, it makes no difference once you get airborne.

Glenn hopes to start selling for $100,000 each next year.

A motorbike engine running on petrol uses car fan-belts to drive two fan propellers that spin horizontally inside what looks like two barrels.

This ‘ducted fan’ design is more efficient than a helicopter rotor.

Two control levers protrude forwards beneath the pilot’s arms. The left one is a joystick controlling forward and backward movement and sideways tilt of the propellers, for left and right turns.

The right lever is the accelerator, the engine start-and-stop switch, and a button for the emergency parachute, located behind the pilot’s head.

Mr Martin recently gained backing from a group of venture capitalists and quit his regular job as a biochemist to develop his machine.

On your way to school or office? Running late due to rush hour? No problem. Go grab your own jetpack.