# Jetpack! No, really! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 4, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995 "2010-10-04T13:24:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/1 "2010-10-04T13:24:05Z")
[The first commercial jetpack is about to hit the market!](http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/436/martin-aircrafts-commercial-jetpack-looks-to-take-flight/) It costs more than $100,000 and can only carry enough fuel for a 30-minute/30-mile flight, but, dammit! **IT’S A JETPACK!** [cue shaft of light and angelic choir] [“I’m going to write a story set after the Singularity, a million years hence, when we are all intergalactically-empowered immortal sentiences in the Beyond, and people will STILL BE COMPLAINING ABOUT NOT HAVING SODDING JETPACKS.” — Patrick Nielsen Hayden]([http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IWantMyJetpack](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IWantMyJetpack)) ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/2 "2010-10-04T13:45:10Z")
Too much work. I want my flying car! ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/3 "2010-10-04T14:37:16Z")
Sweeeeeet! It would get me to work in 5 minutes, max. I could land on the roof of the parking garage that I already use across the street from my office. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/4 "2010-10-04T14:53:05Z")
Sounded great until I read this: > [@](#): > > Currently the Martin jetpack is classified as a recreational vehicle, but it is **restricted to non-urban airspaces-** at least for now. Damn - can’t fly past Houston traffic jams quite yet… ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/5 "2010-10-04T19:48:37Z")
So, they got past that whole set-fire-to-your-own-feet issue finally? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/6 "2010-10-04T20:05:49Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#): > > So, they got past that whole set-fire-to-your-own-feet issue finally? Who needs feet if you’ve got a jetpack? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/7 "2010-10-04T20:12:28Z")
Ducted fans are not jets. No jets, no jetpack. ---
**Author:** ![may\_be\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@may\_be\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/may_be_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/8 "2010-10-04T20:12:44Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > > [@filling\_pages](#): > > > > So, they got past that whole set-fire-to-your-own-feet issue finally? > > Who needs feet if you’ve got a jetpack? 🙂 Exactly! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/9 "2010-10-04T20:14:45Z")
I’m waiting until the price comes down to $90,000. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/10 "2010-10-04T23:34:08Z")
How about if I keep the power real low and just kind of boing-boing along, kangaroo-style, down the side of the road? Hee hee hee. That’d be fun. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/11 "2010-10-04T23:58:57Z")
It’s a lot bigger than I expected. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/12 "2010-10-05T00:16:48Z")
If those things become common, we’re going to see NO LANDING zones outside mall entrances and on the streets, just like in _Back to the Future Part 2_. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/13 "2010-10-05T00:19:31Z")
And I better not see them using grandma’s handicapped parking placard. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/14 "2010-10-05T00:29:45Z")
How could a manufacturer overcome the liability issues? You know somebody’s going to get killed on one pretty quickly. Signing a waiver isn’t going to absolve the company of liability the first time the engine quits or somebody lands too hard. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/15 "2010-10-05T00:46:49Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Ducted fans are not jets. No jets, no jetpack. Maybe, but Ducted Fanpack just doesn’t have the same panache as Jetpack. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/16 "2010-10-05T00:54:17Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I’m waiting until the price comes down to $90,000. Wimp. I’m [outfitting](http://home.comcast.net/~buckanddusty/images/Rednecks/Bass_Boat.jpg) an expedition to retrieve all my guns from the bottom of the lake, so I can rob a bank to afford a jetpack! ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/17 "2010-10-05T01:29:09Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > How could a manufacturer overcome the liability issues? You know somebody’s going to get killed on one pretty quickly. Signing a waiver isn’t going to absolve the company of liability the first time the engine quits or somebody lands too hard. Requiring a pilots license and/or a qualification course. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/18 "2010-10-05T14:22:19Z")
> [@Rysdad](#): > > How about if I keep the power real low and just kind of boing-boing along, kangaroo-style, down the side of the road? > > Hee hee hee. That’d be fun. No, for that you would want a jet-assisted electric-powered pogo stick . . . To the drawing board! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/19 "2010-10-05T14:25:30Z")
For a light-hearted review of past efforts, see [here.](http://davidszondy.com/future/Flight/one_man.htm) > [@](#): > > When man conquered the air he was filled with a sense of triumph, followed by a feeling of extreme disappointment. Wright flyers, gliders, and Zeppelins were all very well and good, but none of that is real flying. That’s being carried through the air in a machine. Flying is… _flying;_ being able to strap on a pair of portable wings so that you can soar with the birds and dance among the clouds. > > Is it any surprise that as soon as the news of Kitty Hawk hit the papers would-be Daedeluses were scrounging up the 20th century equivalents of wax and gull feathers? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995/20 "2010-10-05T14:57:37Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > No, for that you would want a jet-assisted electric-powered pogo stick . . . > To the drawing board! Still not as much fun as the rocket-powered roller skates. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jetpack-no-really/555995.md?page=2)