Ian's opinion on the long-term commercial viability of jet packs

Didn't most of us think that we'd have flying cars and moon colonies by 2010? I know I did. In that realm, I remain a bit disappointed, but I do have one ray of hope on the horizon.

The Martin Aircraft Company finally made a jet pack available to the general public. Here's a few facts from the Huffington Post story updated Feb. 25th of this year......

The Martin Aircraft Company has created the first jetpack that will be commercially available, the Daily Mail reports.

The company's chief executive, Richard Lauder, expects the jetpacks will be sold to a variety of different buyers--from emergency service personnel and private users to the military.

Its fuel capacity is five gallons, but its consumption is ten gallons an hour, which results in an operation time of around 30 minutes on a full tank. FAA regulations limit the maximum speed to 63 mph, which means the furthest a pack can travel on one tank is about 31.5 miles. When empty, the Jetpack weighs 250 pounds and can carry a pilot of over 280 pounds.

The jetpack complies with FAA Ultralight Regulations, and though users will not need a pilot's license to fly the equipment, they will be required to complete Martin's training program before receiving their jetpack. Training for the first ten owners will be held in New Zealand, where the company is headquartered.The company intends to manufacture 500 packs a year and sell them for 50,000 pounds (around $76,000) each.

So here's where I start talking.

Remember when VCR's first came out in the late 1970's? How about the Panasonic NV-9300 U-Matic VCR? Cost New: $5,000 Cost today: $30

Remember when DVD players first came out? Prices for the first players in 1997 were $1000 and up. I bought one in 2001 for $300. Now? $30

I bought my first CD player in 1991. I paid $120 for it. Today, you can buy the same thing for $15.

You can see where I'm going with this, right? My prediction is that in about ten years, the jet packs will be the price of an inexpensive car, and wayyyyy better than the one that just came out.

To my way of thinking, technology gets a little cheaper every year, and competition always drives the market to produce better products for less money. Remember when Hyundai's were a joke? Nobody's laughing now, man. Look at Kia Motors, too.

Now imagine you can buy a jet pack for what you'd pay for a base-model Kia. My call? 10 years away, man.

And I'm soooo getting one.

770, for Wednesday.