A childhood dream from The Rocketeer to Tomorrowland, the jet pack is now not only a reality but it just circled the most famous statue in the United States on an island in New York City.

JetPack Aviation chief David Mayman took his invention to the skies in a very successful publicity stunt aimed to help sell an upcoming commercially-available jetpack. While there are many other jetpacking attempts out there, this one is controlled, stable and sustainable for flight, as demonstrated in the video. They have done other tests and demos, mainly safely over bodies of water, but this one really shows what this thing is capable of.

“We believe a JetPack should be just that – a jet turbine powered backpack that is capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), is extremely light and small and can easily be carried around by the pilot. It should be powerful enough to lift the pilot quickly to thousands of feet above the ground but small enough to fit into the trunk of a car. Meet the JB-9 JetPack. The design of the airframe was helped by our earlier experience with rocketbelts but there were many changes needed related to the size, weight and shape of the engines as well as control systems and engine management systems. A jetpack on the other hand requires systems to start and cool engines, to manage fuel flow and to capture operating information for display to the pilot.”

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Starting in 2016, you will be able to purchase your very own jetpack – after decades of development, Martin Aircraft is finally making commercial models available for sale next year.

If you cannot afford this luxury manned aircraft, you may want to consider a professional career change to government employee, police, fire or ambulance driver, as those kinds of organizations are at the top of the pitch list for this new flying vehicle.

Driven by a 200HP V4 petrol engine powering two ducted fans, the machine can stay airborne for up to 30 minutes, carry over 250 pounds, achieve speeds of 45 miles per hour and reach up to 1,000 meters. It is also maneuverable in tight spaces, perfect for unique emergency situations.

The company just finished an exhibition of its current prototype, flown in Paris, alongside a virtual reality simulation allowing interested consumers to try out the experience from the comfort of a couch with a VR headset. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how flight-regulating authorities like the FAA will approach controlling this new breed of personal luxury vehicle, but for now the sky is the limit.

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Runners are always chasing that elusive four-minute mile, and with good reason: it represents a great deal of dedication and physical training. Jason Kerestes, a student at Arizona State University, is working with DARPA to help regular people reach that insane goal. He hasn’t discovered a new way to train or invented a great new pair of shoes – he built a jetpack.

When we think of jetpacks we usually picture them helping us fly far, far above the ground, but the 4MM (4 Minute Mile) is designed to give runners a horizontal boost. In tests, it helped an already-fast runner shave 18 seconds off of his mile time. That may not sound like a lot, but the jetpack itself added 11.2 pounds to the runner’s torso, so the overall effect is greater than it seems.

The dual-jet, lithium-ion battery powered prototype still has a lot of revisions and refining ahead of it. Its ultimate intended goal is to help military troops haul ass out of dangerous situations. In a combat zone or other dangerous situation, even 18 extra seconds could mean the difference between life and death. Using the jetpack also decreases metabolic energy expenditures so runners could potentially run for longer times and distances than would be possible on their own.

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When New Zealand’s Martin Aircraft Company announced plans for a “practical jetpack,” this oxymoron of a device no doubt raised a few eyebrows. Originally slated for a mid-2014 commercial release, it’s been retooled and the company hopes it will be available for consumers by 2015. If the above picture is any indication, cult leaders will find it perfect for an escape hover just above the heads of their demystified followers.

The Martin Jetpack’s initial applications will be in first responder-type scenarios like fire and rescue. On a full tank, the gasoline-powered beast can remain in the air for around 30 minutes and travel about 20 miles at up to 46 MPH. The company most recently improved the handling on its P12 prototype by re-positioning the craft’s ducts.

For ideal performance and safety, Martin suggests the jetpack be piloted above 500 feet, mainly to give its rocket-deployed ballistic parachute time to open. It will also require the user to wear a helmet, neck restraint, boots, a fireproof suit and hearing protection. By the time it reaches the US market, it is expected to carry a relatively-modest $100,000 price tag.

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Swimming with the dolphins has somehow become one of those things that is on just about everyone’s bucket list. And while that’s probably a lot of fun, we rather think that swimming like a dolphin looks even better. The apparently very fun people at Zapata Racing had exactly the same idea when they created their Flyboard: a cool water-powered jet pack that lets you glide around effortlessly above and below the water.

We can finally stop asking where our jet packs are, because obviously we have arrived in the future. The awesome device is said to be easy enough to learn, although the company likens it to learning to walk – which to our knowledge takes about a year. Still, they say that with an instructor you’ll be doing cool tricks like the guy in the video in under 20 minutes. Without an instructor, it should take under an hour.

The learning curve would undoubtedly be worth it once you start leaping through the air and splashing into the water like some kind of crazed fish person. The jet packs will soon be made available for regular people to own…regular people with money, that is. The Flyboard’s price tag is €4900, or around $6300, which we think is pretty darned reasonable for a jet pack.

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