Personal "Jet-pack" & disastrous urban taxi dreams

The personal jetpack has been around for just over a year now. It's actually not a jet but a propeller pack. Eat your heart our Leonardo Da Vinci. New Zealander Glen Martin took 27 years to develop this. Some videos of the test flights can be seen here, and here. I must say the spotters look nervous, I wonder why? Personally I would build the whole thing in a roll-cage, with some serious safety airbag deployment sections.

It's not elegant, it's a bit of a monster, but it does seem to work. It's a bit like a hybrid between a miniature helicopter and a suped-up motor bike. I think elevation control may be a massive challenge for extended use. I'd hate to know what the fuel bill is for this little baby. Safety issues and traffic control are going to be a nightmare and licensing is going to be difficult.

Rival technology look like this, but it looks suspiciously like a hoisted stunt, and a bit 1970's.

Good quality Sci-Fi always turns a blind eye to pragmatic issues, but not all good ideas end well... If personal flight in urband areas is the dream then try this story for size: Avcen was developing an urban taxi or jetpod concept. Sadly the managing director, inventor and test pilot, Mike Dacre, was killed on the first test flight this past weekend.