So the Jetpack has finally arrived!!! What are the implications of a society where jetpacks are as common a sight as other recreational vehicles like snowmobiles, ATV's and dirt-bikes?

The jet pack has been around for a while. One was even in a James Bond movie.

But if they were widely available and normally in use, I don’t know. I would expect a lot of mid-air collisions for the first few years and I would carry an iron umbrella.

I remember seeing some guy flying one at the opening ceremony of the 1984 LA Olympics.I was fucking amazed.As for any implications I reckon there’d be quite a few singed arses out there.

Yaaaaayyy! Now we can start working on flying cars. Jane! Get me off this crazy thing!

Not a lot of mid-air collisions. But people falling out of the sky.

I might have to invest in a lock for the roof access. sigh

@ChazMaz It’s raining men?

And women.

Hallelujah!

Not when they are splat on your driveway.

@ChazMaz These things have built-in parachutes (designed for low altitudes), and are a LOT more practical than the old-school bond/olympics era packs because they’re so much more stable and can fly for so much longer.

A lot your parachute is going to do. When you are zipping along 50 feet over the ground at 80 miles an hour. You are going to get f’ed up. And if your parachute fails?

A helicopter can auto-rotate a plane can glide in. You become a brick, with fuel strapped to your back.

But I think they are cool . I would fly one. Wonder what the insurance is for one?

Seems like a lot of people have enough trouble operating land based vehicles let alone airborne ones. The jetpack test at the DMV had best be thorough.

OMFG that thing can go 60mph. ME WANT NAO

At 75k that is a good business investment.

Everyone would hire you to fly around. I bet I could pay that off in a year.

I’d pay good money to watch the cops chase some bad guy on a stolen one.Also don’t fly drunk,could get nasty.

The jetpack can’t be said to have truly “arrived” until you see people leaving their offices and strapping on their jetpacks… to fly to their flying car for the ride home. I’m just sayin’ ... it’s a ways off, yet.

@CyanoticWasp well you don’t have to be James Bond or an olympian to get one now, you just need to pull together $75k, which is a lot, but pretty doable for someone who’s passionate about it. Think about how many small general aviation planes are out there today—this thing is cheaper than those.

@gorillapaws you’re right. If it works even moderately safely—hey, I drive a Camry, I live with danger!—then it is pretty cool. Of course, we’ll have to have a hybrid version next month or it’s going nowhere.

GQ.

I’m not really sure what the implications would be but I’m certain that I want one as soon as I can afford it.

That thing is huge! It needs to be smaller like this
Btw, the Japanese have had this technology for years.

The immediate implication is that I would do my darnedest to work from home.

I was thinking about this more today. I wonder what the deal is with trespassing laws and something like a jetpack. I don’t believe you own any of your airspace, so someone could theoretically hover all around your yard and you couldn’t even call the police which seems really weird (maybe for a noise violation or something—but not for trespassing).

Also, this would make a great way to blow the leaves off of your lawn and onto your neighbors lol.

UPDATE: The Martin Jetpack just got approved for manned flight in New Zeland! The bad news is the price tag seems to have crept up to $150K.