You really have to give it to Glenn Martin and all of the engineers who have carried this project on since Glenn's departure. Not even the famous Mythbusters could get their jetpack version to fly, declaring this myth as "totally busted" (how wrong they were). I would love to see Adam Savage & Jamie Hyneman to fly out to New Zealand and being granted a low level test flight opportunity. All being recorded as a Mythbuster update, of course! You probably know that these shows are being filmed in San Francisco, but did you know that editing takes place in Sydney's Artarmon? Peter Rees of Australia's Beyond Television is the producer of the show.
Yes, there have been repeated promised commercial release dates. This video sets a delivery date of 2010, but we all know what year we are currently in. All we can do is to trust Mr. Peter Coker, now that he has committed himself to 2016.
Regarding the Centre of Gravity issues. The CG in helicopters is relatively high with the heaviest part, the turbine engine, sitting right on top of the airframe. The CG for the jetpack appears to be lower and there is no long rotor blades restricting approach and eventual landing spots. Naturally, the ground has to be relatively flat, but we might be asking a bit too much for it to park on a cliff edge.
I have been one of the greatest critics of the Martin Jetpack, expressing doubts and now 'green shoots' of optimism, despite MJP's SP dropping another 2 cents to 46 cents today. But I can sense that the management is taking the concerns of the various stakeholders more seriously, especially in their latest (April 2016) newsletter.
What I would love to see next are new flight videos, preferably with the new 4 stroke engine, which is stated to be lighter and quieter and confirmation on orders and maturing manufacturing capabilities, both in Christchurch and in China.
Please keep us informed, Mr Coker. Good or not so good.
MJP Price at posting:
46.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
