A KuangChi Martin Jetpack flies over a lake during a demonstration in Shenzhen, China on December 6, 2015.[Courtesy of PR Newswire]
{China Daily Asia official YouTube channel}
Being a superhero “Iron Man” is anyone’s dream, the young and old are like. Now, The dream came true. A personal jetpack successfully finished its public test flight in China, Sunday.
The test flight was carried out over a lake in Shenzhen, China. Over 2,000 spectators watched Michael Read, the pilot flying the jetpack for more than five minutes. Also, remote controlled unmanned flight was shown.
The KuangChi Martin Jetpack was designed & developed by a New Zealand company, Martin Aircraft, and manufactured by KungChi Science, a high-tech company listed in Hong Kong, also the largest shareholder of the Martin Aircraft.
According to a KuangChi official, the jetpack was designed with safety in mind and for easy adoption, consists of twin engines with ducted fans which allow thrust power enough to lift the jetpack and its pilot in the air. It can fly close to a building, trees, and other obstacles in confined areas which other aerial vehicles cannot operate.
The jetpack is able to carry commercial payloads up to 120 kilograms and its maximum flight time is 45 minutes at a speed up to 80 kilometers per hour.
The company said the first commercial personal jetpack has a variety of potential uses such as military, rescue, recreational and commercial applications. The jetpack will be available for commercial sales next year. The jetpack’s estimated price is approximately U.S$ 2,550,000.
아주경제 박세진 기자 = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
