In a test in a field in New Zealand, Martin Jetpack Prototype 11 climbed at a rate of 800 feet per minute to an altitude of 5,000 feet, where it deployed a ballistic parachute safety system and floated back to Earth after nearly 10 minutes aloft. A previously version had reached a paltry 50 feet in testing. The jetpack was tested with a crash test dummy.

 

“This test also validated our flight model, proved thrust to weight ratio and proved our ability to fly a jetpack as an unmanned aerial vehicle, which will be key to some of the jetpack’s future emergency/search and rescue and military applications,” said the pack’s developer, Glenn Martin.