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New Zealand Authorities Green-Light Personal Jetpacks

OK, so New Zealand has sheep, mountains and a fondness for magical rings… and now we can add “laid-back aviation officials” to that list. The New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority said a jetpack has now been issued with an experimental flight permit for development test flying, which allows someone to pilot the aircraft.

The creation is currently being played with (tested) by Martin Aircraft and has been in the works for thirty years, even since inventor Glenn Martin began work on it in his garage. Up until now it’s been flown via remote control, but thanks to the approval someone can now pilot the thing. Rock on!
Chief executive Peter Coker said the certification was a significant milestone in the development of the jetpack. “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,” he said.

The Christchurch-based firm say they have over 10,000 enquiries about their jetpack already, but the majority of first sales will be to emergency and government agencies. There will be a simpler model aimed at the general public further down the line though, so don’t give up hope of owning one! It looks like a lot of fun, check out the video below!

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Words by Matt Gammond

Source [Media Blasphemy]