According to an article published today in the Wall Street Journal:
"Jetpacks have long captured the public imagination as a way to dodge traffic jams and Cold War villains.
Among the world's aviation regulators, they have been dismissed as a flight of fancy that didn't require any special rules.
But a planned launch of a jetpack in New Zealand next year has bureaucrats scratching their heads, particularly as the machine's makers say the thing can travel up to 7,000 feet in the air at speeds of 50 miles an hour.
"Think of it like a motorcycle in the sky," says Peter Coker, chief executive of Martin Aircraft Co. Ltd., which has spent 30 years developing the Martin Jetpack here. The Martin jetpack is unique in that it is not rocket powered but has a gasoline engine driving twin-ducted fans. The latest P12 prototype, a far sleeker and shinier model than the earlier versions, will allow a pilot to fly for up to half an hour.
New Zealand is taking the prospect of jetpacks in its airspace seriously, even though the product's price—more than $150,000—means that just a few dozen have been reserved. Most of those are going to overseas customers".
Source: The Wall Street Journal
