Military Jet Pack - Leigh Coates says that when you hit the air with a jetpack, you feel like you can fly like a superhero.
"It was an incredible feeling," said the retired US helicopter pilot. "You look like you could fly."
Military Jet Pack
Jetpacks first entered the world public consciousness in 1965, thanks to the James Bond film, Thunderball.
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The brilliant spy, then played by the late Sean Connery, is chased by gunmen to the roof of a French monastery, from where he straps himself into a jetpack to fly and escape.
To give a good start to the film, the jetpack, Bell-Textron, was developed as a "rocket man" for the US Army in the 1950s.
When the US military deemed it too dangerous to use, they tricked secret agent 007, or at least double Connery's surprise.
Now 56 years later, jetpack technology has advanced greatly, and devices are being tested for various professional uses, such as the rapid deployment of rescuers in emergency situations, or for the defense forces.
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In fact, a stunning video last month showed Royal Marines testing a jetpack to assist in sea boarding operations, eliminating the need to descend on a rope from a helicopter.
However, what is rarely discussed is the recreational use of jetpacks. Observers often point to a number of problematic issues, from safety and environmental issues - after all, you have an airplane engine attached to your back - to regulatory constraints, and air traffic control issues.
However, two companies, one in the United States and one in England, now allow citizens to pay to try jetpacks, although users are attached to cables to a large metal frame to prevent them from flying out of control. .
"I think this technology will be used in special events, before it finds wider use in entertainment," said Benjamin Akih, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Syracuse University in New York.
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"I think about firefighters, medical and rescue workers, or maybe law enforcement ... the use of jetpacks in this case could promote adoption in other areas, such as entertainment and personal transportation."
Daniel Levine, a trends expert at the Avant-Guide Institute, a New York City-based consultancy that focuses on travel and consumer trends, said that although mass-produced recreational jetpacks are unlikely, the experience of being manufactured - and very expensive - jetpacks. ""it will become more common. . And users will not be locked out.
"I think in the next five years, people looking for local thrills will be able to rent a flight package in some countries where insurance companies don't spoil the fun," he said. "My eyes are on Dubai," he said.
"Once the technology becomes convenient enough for the average Jane, personal cars will find their place - especially as pleasure rides."
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Abi King, who runs the website Inside Travel Lab, agrees that the jetpack experience could be popular with thrill seekers.
"I'm sure there will be excitement for something new and exciting," he said. "When you're done flying in the sky and flying in parliament, what's next? It may not be what everyone thinks, but it's how people without adrenaline think."
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Among the companies that have established themselves in the jetpack space is Jetpack Aviation of California, which was founded in 2015. It has produced several versions of the "JB" series jetpack.
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In addition to focusing on opportunities in the military and emergency services sectors, the company allows citizens to be trained to use the Civil Aviation Administration-approved JB10, a twin-turbojet engine jetpack that runs on kerosene or diesel.
JetPack Aviation founder and chief executive David Mayman said the company was "overwhelmed" by demand for two days of training and - combined - flights.
According to Mr Mayman, the jetpack - which the company calls '"Segway in the sky" - is intuitive to fly. Thrust and speed are controlled with the pilot's right hand, with movements to the left.
Meanwhile, the computer screen provides information to the user including fuel level, engine, exhaust gas temperature and battery condition.
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"A normal person, of average size and average health, will have no problem," Mr. Mayman said. "This is based on the number of people we have trained.
"You certainly don't need to be a trained pilot, or an existing pilot. In fact, sometimes it puts people down because they don't need to learn a lot."
Jetpack Aviation has now trained about 80 people, and Mr Mayman said a number of promoters had approached him about setting up professional operations in countries including Japan and Australia.
"It's an expensive game for us to run, because of the expensive technology," Mr Mayman said. [However] I think over time it will be cheaper [thanks to future technological advances].
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In the UK, a rival company called Gravity Industries also allows members of the public to test jetpacks, although, again, users are tethered to safety cables.
Both Gravity, which supplies jetpacks tested by the Royal Marines, and JetPack Aviation also said they were setting up racing leagues. This will happen over water, for safety reasons.
Gravity had originally planned to host its first race in Bermuda in March 2020, but had to postpone it due to the pandemic.
The company's founder, Richard Browning, a former oil trader and Royal Marine reservist, said the planned series of races would involve training members for the public to compete in the competition.
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"We'll let this grow organically, but we're looking to train more members of the public," he said.
"They tend to be rich, attractive types of men and women. After the training, we want to meet in a nice place like Monaco, or the San Francisco Bay Area. We will have colorful corporate jets. Get ready for them. "
The race, he added, will involve racers with jetpacks circling poles and maneuvering during the jetpack's flight, which is currently about five or six minutes.
"It will be something that can appear month after month in different beautiful places around the world," Mr Browning said. "This is the trend we're looking at. We want to show this, rather than speculate."
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Leigh Coates is looking forward to racing for Gravity Industries. She was actually the first woman to fly a Gravity jetpack untethered, in 2019.
She has also flown, tethered by a safety cable, with JetPack Aviation, back in 2018, in which she was also the first woman to use her own jetpack.
"It was my childhood dream to fly," said Ms. Coates, who lives in Alaska. "So when I found out about these two companies, I jumped right in." The Royal Navy has been trying to build an Iron Man-style aircraft that it hopes could be used to attack enemy ships.
They are designed by Gravity Industries and use over 1,000bhp of jet engine power to reach speeds of over 85mph and can fly for over 10 minutes.
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Salisbury company founder and chief test pilot Richard Browning served in the Royal Navy before becoming a jet pack mogul.
Images have emerged of soldiers using advanced tactical suits in scenes such as Robert Downey Jr's Marvel character or the James Bond film Thunderball.
Marines float over the Atlantic Ocean in helmets and smart suits waving the Union Jack flag Credit: You Tube/Gravity Industries
Mr Browning flew his own 5-engine jet pack suit near HMS Queen Elizabeth and his company released a video showing the operator working with Royal Marines to launch from a rigid inflatable boat and board a Royal Navy Batch 2 patrol boat offshore HMS Tamar.
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The Royal Navy has been testing the suit attack team concept for two years and last year proved that the jetpacks could be used to attack ships in dangerous stealth missions.
A spokesman said: “Navy forces use stealth and speed to board suspicious vessels and specialize in terrorist hijacking and anti-smuggling and piracy operations around the world.
“Commanders work in small teams on attack ships to quickly board suspicious ships with the help of marine snipers in helicopters and Wildcat drones.
"The test examines the use of a jet suit - which allows the user to fly - in sea navigation operations and special techniques related to vertical access."
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The Royal Navy has been testing the air assault team concept for two years Credit: You Tube/Gravity Industries
Last month the Navy launched the suit when HMS Queen Elizabeth was in New York to host the Atlantic Future Forum (AFF), described as "a defense, security, business and technology conference organized by the British Government".
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