In this Feb. 9, 2016 photo, Martin
Aircraft CEO Peter Coker stands next to a Martin Jetpack in Christchurch, New
Zealand. The company says it's close to commercial liftoff, but the man who
started it fears his vision of a personal jetpack will remain grounded. (AP
Photo/Nick Perry)
Glenn
Martin was sitting in a bar with his college buddies 35 years ago when they got
to wondering: What ever happened to flying cars and jetpacks?
The
next day, the New Zealander began looking for answers in the science library,
triggering a lifelong quest to build a jetpack. But today, with the company he
created seemingly on the verge of triumph, Martin worries his dream is slipping
away.
Martin
Aircraft Co. says it will deliver its first experimental jetpacks to customers
this year, a big development for the new technology. But the jetpack is being designed
for first responders like firefighters, an outcome that falls short of Martin's
vision of a recreational jetpack that anybody could fly.
The
inventor has now left the company he founded. What's more, he says, he's asked
for his name to be removed.
"All
us guys know what a jetpack's for," he says with a smile at his
Christchurch home. "With a jetpack, you save the world and you get the
girl. Right?"
Jetpacks
have often been portrayed that way in books and movies. They have formed part
of humanity's utopian future vision for the past century. Fictional characters
from Buck Rogers to Elroy Jetson have used them, and a real jetpack wowed the
crowds at the opening of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
In this Feb. 9, 2016 photo,
technician John Newell works on a jetpack component at the Martin Aircraft Co.
headquarters in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Martin,
56, grew up in the South Pacific, thousands of miles (kilometers) from Houston.
But he followed the space race avidly.
"I
still remember sitting in class and listening to Neil Armstrong step onto the
moon," he says. "And I believed, I suppose, that we would all have
flying cars and jetpacks and bases on Mars by the time I was an adult."
Storied
though they may be, jetpacks have a troubled history. The Bell Aerospace rocket
belt, developed in the 1960s, showed it was possible. However, that jetpack
couldn't carry much weight and could remain airborne for less than 30 seconds.
It was for show, nothing more.
In
the mid-1990s, three Houston men decided they'd try to make one. Instead, they
made a mess. They fell out over money and their venture ended with an unsolved
murder, an abduction, a man in jail and a device that had vanished.
Peter
Coker, Martin Aircraft's chief executive, says he believes the best business
plan is to make jetpacks for first responders and later for other commercial
operators. Once all the supply chains are in place, he says, the company can
then turn its attention to building a personal jetpack.
In this Feb. 9, 2016 photo,
technician Simon Jones works on a jetpack at the Martin Aircraft Co.
headquarters in Christchurch, New Zealand.
"We
are now an aviation company," Coker says. "Before, it was very much
the kiwi dream. But you have to take that commercial path."
Glenn
Martin's vision still holds true, Coker says: Creating and selling a personal
jetpack remains part of what the company is all about.
But
Martin doubts the company will ever make one.
When
he began his research, he wanted to improve on the Bell rocket belt and make a
jetpack that could lift a solidly built guy like himself and a safety
parachute, then stay airborne for at least 30 minutes. He decided to use ducted
fans, making the word jetpack something of a misnomer.
During
the 1980s, he worked in the pharmaceutical industry and built prototypes in his
garage. He sponsored two university students to check his math. By 1997 he
needed a lightweight pilot, so he enlisted his wife, Vanessa, to make the
inaugural flight. It lasted a few seconds.
In this Feb. 9, 2016 photo, test
pilot Michael van der Vliet operates a flight simulator at the Martin Aircraft
Co. headquarters in Christchurch, New Zealand.
More
refinements eventually allowed the jetpack and its pilot to remain airborne for
several minutes and complete controlled turns. Martin took inspiration from
reading the Wright brothers' journals; in 2008, he took a prototype to the
Experimental Aircraft Association airshow in Wisconsin.
He
says he decided to build his jetpack with straightforward components, including
a piston engine that uses standard gasoline. He wanted to keep it small enough
to be classified as ultra-light aircraft, which in the U.S. don't typically
require a pilot's license to fly. He figured anyone could learn to fly one
after a 3-day course and be kept safe with a built-in parachute which would
automatically deploy in an emergency.
But
as he sought to raise funds for his fledgling company, Martin says, he began
losing control. Along came investors, venture capitalists, and plans for an
Initial Public Offering.
The
company was listed on the Australian stock market in February last year, and is
now majority owned by a Chinese company, KuangChi Science. It's valued at about
180 million Australian dollars ($138 million), showing that investors are
taking the concept of a commercial jetpack seriously.
Disillusioned
with the direction the company was taking, Martin resigned as a director in
June. He still owns a 10 percent stake, which he cannot sell before February.
In this Feb. 9, 2016 photo, a number
of early jetpack prototypes sit on display at the Martin Aircraft Co.
headquarters in Christchurch, New Zealand.
"I'd
picked up the rugby ball and taken it almost to the finish line and felt it was
time for other people to do the rest," he says.
Coker,
60, a former officer in Britain's Royal Air Force, has increased the staff from
six to 58 since taking the reins three years ago.
By
late 2016, he plans for the first customers to begin using the jetpack
prototype in real-time operations while providing feedback for further
improvements. The company is also developing an unmanned jetpack, which will be
used for transporting goods.
The
company has signed preliminary agreements with several agencies, including
Dubai's civil defense department. Coker says Dubai and others are interested in
jetpacks that can rescue people from skyscrapers, or put out fires in them. He
says jetpacks can get much closer to buildings than helicopters, and some
people are calling them "high-rise lifeboats."
Obstacles
remain. The jetpack will need to be cleared by aviation authorities. Martin
Aircraft has been working with New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority on a new
category for jetpacks, which Coker hopes will provide a template for other
nations.
In this Feb. 9, 2016 photo, jetpack
inventor Glenn Martin sits at his home in Christchurch, New Zealand. Martin
Aircraft Co. says it's close to commercial liftoff, but Glenn Martin fears his
vision of a personal jetpack will remain grounded. (AP Photo/Nick Perry)
Coker
says Martin has not formally asked for his name to be removed from the company,
and he can't recall any informal approach. If the founder made an official
request, Coker says, the board would consider the impact on branding and
marketing before making a decision.
And
Glenn Martin? Yes, he's disappointed he didn't see the concept all the way
through. On the other hand, he enjoyed a summer holiday with his family this
year for the first time he can remember.
"Jetpacks
are a funny thing. They create a lot of passion," he says. "Everybody
loves the idea of a jetpack. But the reality is that it's a lot of hard
work."
The
jetpack may look bulky, but Martin says you don't notice that when you're
airborne—an experience he likens to living out his childhood dreams.
"The
jetpack
is all behind you. You can't see it," he says. "All you can see is
your hands. It's like some magic hand has lifted you up, and you're
flying."
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