Commercial jetpacks will start selling next year at $150,000, each primarily for use in emergency response and search and rescue, according to its New Zealand maker.
"I think the first responders will see that as a massive improvement to their capability," said Martin Jetpack chief executive Peter Coker, according to Reuters.
The jetpack can also be used in fire service, border security, surf lifesaving, pipeline inspection and other emergency services, according to the Martin Jetpack website.
"Jetpack is the machine that can really allow people to fly freely and allow people to really use the machine to rescue, searching, and save people's lives, and it's very non-disruptive. It's not like helicopters, which is very bulky, so it's not like a car which cannot fly. So it's really something in between and I believe it's not only a product we are delivering, it's a dream," said Ruopeng Liu, chairman of Kuang-Chi Science, the company's partner, according to Reuters.
The announcement of the sale came after the company, also known as Martin Aircraft, exhibited the jetpack model P12 at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget exhibition center in Paris, France, from June 15 to 21. A simulator allowed exhibit goers to feel like they were flying in the machine, according to TVNZ.
The first prototype of the P12 was successfully tested in 2011. It flew 3,300 feet high and landed via parachute.
The one displayed in Paris last week was an improved version. The new P12's V4 200 horsepower petrol engine drives two ducted fans to make the machine fly for more than 30 minutes. It can reach an altitude of 3,300 feet, move at 46 miles per hour and carry a up to 264 pounds of payload.
The P12 can take off and land vertically.
"The jetpack has a composite structure pilot module that protects the pilot in the event of accident and a ballistic parachute system that can deploy and safely recover the aircraft from only a few meters above the ground," said Cocker, according to Reuters.
