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Post by fletcherfu24 on Sept 17, 2009 7:41:45 GMT 12
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Post by Kereru on Sept 21, 2009 11:38:47 GMT 12
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Post by Peter Lewis on Sept 21, 2009 12:26:52 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 21, 2009 12:37:02 GMT 12
I saw the Sunday special report last night, and to be honest I think the next thing they need to develop is a noise muffler system. They'll never be able to produce any product with the loud din the engines make right now. It's far too dangerous, right there by the wearer's ears.
I still cannot see any practical applications either apart from fun parks.
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Post by slackie on Sept 21, 2009 15:55:16 GMT 12
....but I'd have one!!
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Post by chewy on Sept 21, 2009 17:51:16 GMT 12
I don't care if it is not safe, if ihad the money i would buy one too.
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Post by fletcherfu24 on Sept 21, 2009 19:57:04 GMT 12
Its just an expensive leaf blower.It will never fly.
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Post by Bruce on Sept 21, 2009 22:10:11 GMT 12
The Jetpack is an amazing engineering acheivement, and I don't doubt its performance will improve as more hours get run up. I cant see it as a profitable commercial venture though. assuming that it does reach its performance goals, then what? How do they propose these things will be operated? who will buy them? what would people do with them?
If it leaves ground effect, it would then be considered a microlight aircraft - which would therefore need registration and pilot certification. You cant fly them over a built up area, so the idea of commuting to work by Jetpack isnt going to fly. They are noisy, and I'm sure neighbours wouldnt be too keen on having one fall on top of them, so where would you fly it? Maybe the back of a farm somewhere, but that would probably get boring eventually. You may be able to sell some in the US to blast around in the desert with, but you have to transport it somewhere and have support crew etc - A decent trail Bike is probably a better adventure machine. And despite all the arguements, there is still the "dead Mans" zone between about 10 ft and 400ft where an engine failure would ruin your day, and the Parachute wouldnt work.
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Post by slackie on Sept 22, 2009 20:28:03 GMT 12
...but I'd STILL have one!!
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Post by fletcherfu24 on Sept 24, 2009 20:47:34 GMT 12
A Christchurch strip club has won a TradeMe auction to test fly the new Martin Jetpack.
Calendar Girls owner James Samson said five strippers would fly the jetpack after he won the auction for $5700 earlier today.
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Post by stu on Sept 24, 2009 21:03:36 GMT 12
no jokes about joysticks please  |
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Post by fletcherfu24 on Sept 25, 2009 7:04:58 GMT 12
No doubt there will be heavy TV coverage of this historical aviation event.
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Post by hardyakka on Sept 25, 2009 21:54:59 GMT 12
Go on, Slackie... throw in another "I'd still have one" line and then we can all ask whether you meant a jet-pack or a stripper... I'd like to fly one (jet-pack) but I'm above the weight limit  I also though the water jet style one with the towable pump-boat-thingee would be great fun. I guess I have a penchant for admiring totally impractical but still cool-fun looking devices... hence the Yak |
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Post by Peter Lewis on Jun 9, 2010 10:54:53 GMT 12
A critical analysis here: aardvark.co.nz/daily/2010/0608.shtml" Now, of course, at this juncture I should remind people about the Martin jetpack.
Time ticks slowly past, still we have nearly a million dollars of taxpayers money in this venture. And guess what?
No sales, and the only revenues (if any) are coming from turning the product into an amusement ride for a tiny handful of tourists.
I really don't think we're going to see a return on that investment for all the reasons I've previously stated. " |
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Post by Peter Lewis on Aug 30, 2010 14:26:16 GMT 12
Whats happened to the strippers flights? Its all gone very quiet. "The Martin Jetpack seems to have had an awfully long gestation. Since it was announced over a year ago, with a hiss and a roar (quite literally), the pack really seems to have faltered on take-off, despite numerous "nearly done" deals and even a move into the adventure tourism marketplace. With a development cost that is now well into seven digits, I think investors might be getting just a little edgy, especially when new entrants threaten to usurp the Martin before it's even properly off the ground. <snip> A US company, JetPack International, are already selling rocket packs so they have developed a reputation for being able to deliver on promises. But, as I've already pointed out, rocket packs are really not that practical. If you take a look at their Equipment page however, you'll see that Jetpack International have a *real* jet-pack, the "T-73" which has a real jet engine and is due for release before the end of 2010. Okay, the range is only 11 miles and flight-time is still somewhat limited at 9 minutes (although they say 19 minutes in this article) but if these guys can deliver in the way they've delivered on the rocket-pack promise, a good chunk of Martin's market will have flown out the window. Who'd want to buy a massively bulky and unwieldy pair of fans driven by something akin to a skimobile engine when you could have a cool jet-pack with a real jet engine? And, if these guys get this thing to market by Christmas -- it will be the only true jetpack commercially available anywhere. " aardvark.co.nz/daily/2010/0830.shtml#continue |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 30, 2010 16:09:48 GMT 12
Ah, the "give me instant gratification" world we live in. Don't you love it?
Personally I think people would be mad to invest in this so-called jetpack. If anything it will be a fad, not a lasting investment. Another thing, the "adventure-tourism" angle may have gone done the toilet as I wonder if this contraption would pass the new stringent laws for regulating that industry. which are not before time.
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Post by The Red Baron on Aug 30, 2010 18:21:12 GMT 12
More chance of flying with my refridgerator strapped to your back than this thing ever 'flying'.
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Post by Kereru on Sept 4, 2010 9:48:45 GMT 12
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Post by The Red Baron on Oct 7, 2010 6:07:25 GMT 12
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Post by Ykato on Oct 25, 2010 12:02:22 GMT 12
Struggling for altitude Monday Oct 25, 2010 New businesses with big ideas are fighting to stay aloft as the money runs out, Karyn Scherer reports. Two weeks ago, Fox News solemnly announced that the Los Angeles Police Department had decided to buy 10,000 made-in-New-Zealand jetpacks for its staff. At least one of the Fox presenters was outraged. At US$100,000 each, jetpacks seemed a mighty extravagant purchase for a State government that was effectively bankrupt, she grumped. As CNN gleefully pointed out, the report was laughably wrong. The LAPD, a spokesman noted, wasn't even buying new squad cars any more - let alone spending US$1 billion on jetpacks. Full item is located here: www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10682267 |
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