JB-9: "World's Only Read Jetpack" We All Are Looking Forward To

Short Bytes: Many jetpacks have been averse to our Jetpack expectations because of their technical corners. But now we have JB-9. It has been under development for last 20 years and people are really looking forward to it in terms of Jetpack being sold for commercially.

Our world has seen a plenty of jetpacks thrown around at us but none of them seem promising. Talking about the future of Jetpack industry, Martin Jetpack is tipped to be the first commercial jetpack to go on sale very soon this year. However, you might have to pay a hefty price for US$ 150,00 Martin Jetpack.

And there’s the Jetman Dubai jetpack, which is technically more of a ‘wingsuit system’ that you have to strap yourself into and be launched from an aircraft more than 2 km in the air to achieve flight. These unwanted things defy the definition of a Jetpack.

Evan Ackerman explains over at IEEE Spectrum about a real Jetpack:

“A real jetpack needs to be small and light enough that you can put it on and walk around. It needs to be safe enough and reliable enough (in principle if not in practice) for regular use. And most importantly, it needs to be able to take off vertically, fly for a useful distance and time, and land vertically without turning its passenger into goo. Jetpack Aviation’s JB-9 does all of these things.”

So let’s talk about JB-9, the real Jetpack

JB-9 runs on actual turbojet engines, not efficient enough to power big aircraft, but ideal for a compact Jetpack because of ideal power to weight ratio. It consumes under 4 litres of the fuel per minute – the device includes a 38-litre fuel tank.

You can manoeuvre in the air using simple hand controls once you are in the air. According to Jetpack Aviation, the jetpack can fly at an altitude of around 10,000 feet (30,480 metres) at speeds greater than 100 mph (160 km/h) and with an endurance of 10 minutes or more, depending on the pilot’s weight.

“The JB-10 (which is already undergoing test flights) should be able to hit ‘well over’ 200 km/h in horizontal flight, and future improvements will thankfully include a ballistic parachute and sensor-driven automatic stabilisation to make the jetpack safer and easier to fly,”

Ackerman reports for IEEE Spectrum.

Unfortunately, the JB-9 or 10 won’t be available for sale anytime soon. It took them 20 years to develop this version and they’re unlikely to be cheap.