Professional daredevil Nick Macomber made history over the weekend, conducting the first successful jetpack flight ever in China. But don’t get your hopes up about taking one of these things to work anytime soon.
According to China Daily, over 1000 people watched in Beijing as Macomber blasted off to a height of about 10 storeys, circled around a bit, and landed safely. The entire flight lasted just 27 seconds, a limitation of the jetpack technology which requires a tremendous amount of fuel to obtain lift.
You can watch video of the historic flight below.
“It feels like you’re riding a bicycle into the sky,” Macomber said. “It becomes a part of me. It’s like walking, you don’t think about walking anymore, you just walk. You go where you want to go. That’s how it is for me to fly.”
“I’m like a bird, I just see where I want to go and I go,” Macomber added.
Last year Macomber made headlines by jumping off the 45th floor of the Four Seasons hotel in Denver. He hovered around the edges of the roof and lived to tell the tale. His flight in China was a bit less dramatic, but his mission in China may not be over yet.
“One of my biggest dreams is to fly over the Great Wall,” Macomber reportedly said. There’s no word yet if he’ll be able to fulfil that dream before he leaves China.
#NickMacomber testa il suo #jetpack a #Pechino. #innovazioni #curiosità pic.twitter.com/fsZ0UktOA2
— Cina News (@CinaNews) July 13, 2015
Regular jetpack flights have almost become routine for people like Macomber, who use the technology most commonly for marketing purposes. Need a gimmick for your next trade show? Then Macomber is your man.
Despite the fact that jetpack demonstrations date back to the 1960s, they have yet to prove themselves as a viable personal transportation device. Again, the incredible amount of fuel needed to lift a human being is one of the many obstacles. But don’t even get us started on the safety considerations.
Nick Macomber，世界上最顶级的喷气背包飞行员，他出现在拉斯维加斯的高楼大厦、跨越过旧金山的金门大桥、也在NFL赛场数万人面前从天而降。今天，他被极客公园请到北京雁栖湖畔完成了中国首飞。 pic.twitter.com/zmXFAXjJfd
— Feeng (@jonyfeeng) July 11, 2015
Despite assurances from other jetpack companies that the technology will be commercially available within the next two years, consider us sceptical. The future is here, but it’s a future where the jetpack is still little more than a toy.
Granted, it’s a damn cool toy that can only be used by professional stuntmen. But it’s still a toy.
Picture: China Daily