Editor’s note: This article was first published in December 2010. The planned 2011 launch and the “current stage of development” figures (30 minutes of flight) refer to that time. The jetpack never became a widely sold consumer product, so the company’s later history should be verified.
Da Vinci’s dream has come true. Today humans can fly, thanks to an American company that came up with the idea of fitting a person with a piece of equipment (a backpack) that lets them fly. Along the way, they’ve turned this invention into a lucrative, profitable business, aimed initially at leisure.
The company behind the idea is Martin Aircraft Company, whose jetpack will allow a person to climb as high as 2,500 metres, although at its current stage of development it can only stay in the air for 30 minutes.
For now this business idea is focused on leisure, although the company doesn’t rule out aiming it at military use and rescue operations. In this case, reality outdoes movie fiction. The business is profitable because from 2011 the Martin Jetpack will be on sale for the modest price of €75,000 per unit, and it’s already swamped with orders.
The Martin Jetpack is built from carbon fibre and has a 200-horsepower engine that drives turbines capable of lifting both the machine and its pilot.
Will this business work in Spain?
Further reading
- The most profitable businesses
- How to start a business with no money
- Virtual secretary: a profitable business
- The 10 jobs of the future
Featured image: martinjetpack, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
