Personal jetpack JB-9 flew a person around the Statue of Liberty

An aviator flew by jetpack in a controlled and sustained flight around Statue of Liberty.

The JB-9 is small enough to sit in the back seat of a car but powerful enough to fly thousands of feet high.

The JB-9 jetpack, approved for the flight by the FAA and US Coast Guard was developed by legendary Hollywood inventor (and winner of 3 Academy Awards), Nelson Tyler and Mayman. The miniature jet-turbine back pack is fast, powerful, and unlike rocket powered belts, safe and practical to operate. Tyler and Mayman have spent millions of dollars and thousands of hours secretly developing the device which has never before been seen in public. Their struggle has been documented over the last eight years by an Emmy-award winning film team.

The JB-9 is powered by two turbine jet engines that have been specially adapted.

Its inventors says it is ‘inherently stable but also capable of very dynamic manoeuvres thanks to our approach to engine vectoring’

Early testing of the next version, JB-10, indicates that it will achieve flights of over 10,000 feet altitude, at speeds greater than 100 mph and with an endurance of 10 minutes + (depending on pilot weight).

The JB-9 uses a carbon-fiber corset that straps to the pilot’s back, with the majority of the ‘backpack’ section carrying fuel.

Mounted to each side is a small jet turbine engine that provides upward thrust.

On the left controller is a yaw twistgrip.

The JB-9 carries 10 pounds of kerosene fuel that burns through two vectored thrust engines at a rate of one gallon per minute for up to ten minutes of flying time – depending on pilot weight. Weight of fuel is a consideration but it’s reported to start with 500ft/minute climb rate that doubles as the fuel burns off. While this model has been limited to 55knots (100kph), the prototype of the JB-10 is reported to fly at over 200kph.

This is a true jetpack: a backpack that provides jet-powered flight. Most of the volume is the fuel tank, with twin turbine jet engines gimbal-mounted on each side. The control system is identical to the Bell Rocketbelt: tilting the handgrips vectors the thrust – left-right and forward-back – by moving the actual engines; twisting left hand moves two nozzle skirts for yaw; while twisting the right hand counterclockwise increases throttle. Jetpack Aviation was started by Australian businessman David Mayman with the technical knowhow coming from Nelson Tyler, prolific inventor of helicopter-mounted camera stabilizers and one of the engineers that worked on the Bell Rocketbelt that was used in the 1984 Olympic

Other Jetpacks

Swiss ex-military and commercial pilot Yves Rossy developed and built a winged pack with rigid aeroplane-type carbon-fiber wings spanning about 2.4 m (8 ft) and four small kerosene-burning jet engines underneath; these engines are large versions of a type designed for model aeroplanes. He wears a heat-resistant suit similar to that of a firefighter or racing driver to protect him from the hot jet exhaust. On 26 September 2008, Yves successfully flew across the English Channel from Calais, France to Dover, England in 9 minutes, 7 seconds. His speed reached 299 km/h (186 mph) during the crossing, and was 201 km/h (125 mph) when he deployed the parachute

The Martin Jetpack is a significant breakthrough in first responder solutions. The Martin Jetpack is a backpack helicopter.

The Martin Jetpack is a small VTOL device with two ducted fans that provide lift and a 2.0-litre V4 piston 200-horsepower gasoline engine. Although its pilot straps onto it and does not sit, the device cannot be classed as a backpack device because it is too large to be worn while walking. Although the Martin Jetpack does not meet the Federal Aviation Administration’s classification of an ultralight aircraft: it meets weight and fuel restrictions, but it cannot meet the power-off stall speed requirement. The intention is to create a specific classification for the jetpack – it uses the same gasoline used in cars, is relatively easy to fly, and is cheaper to maintain and operate than other ultralight aircraft. Most helicopters require a tail rotor to counteract the rotor torque, which, along with the articulated head complicate flying, construction, and maintenance enormously. The Martin Jetpack is designed to be torque neutral – it has no tail rotor, no collective, no articulating or foot pedals – and this design simplifies flying dramatically. Pitch, roll and yaw are controlled by one hand, height by the other.

Version P12
A further version of the Martin Jetpack has been built to prepare for manned flight testing. The new prototype, with the descriptor P12, has several design improvements over earlier versions, including lowering the position of the Martin Jetpack’s ducts, which has reportedly resulted in much better maneuverability. It also has a fully integrated fly by wire system. P12 will be developed into a First Responder production model. A lighter personal jetpack should be available in 2016

Martin Jetpack specs

Crew: 1 pilot
Payload: 120 kg
Length: 5 ft 7 in (1.75 m)
Wingspan:
Height: 7 ft (2.2 m)
Max. takeoff weight: 320 kg (320kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Martin Aircraft Company 2-litre (120 cu in) two-stroke V-4 engine, 200 hp (150 kw)
Propellers: Carbon / Kevlar composite – ducted fans in each engine propeller
Fuel capacity: 45 Litres

Performance

Maximum speed: 74 kph
Cruise speed: 54 kph
Stall speed: 0 kph (0 kph)
Range: 30-40 km ()
Combat radius: @74kph+5min rev = 56km ()
Endurance: 30 min up to 50 min
Service ceiling: 3,000 ft ()
Rate of climb: 400 fpm ()
sink rate: 400 fpm ()