There's an ex-airline pilot by the name of Yves Rossy. He calls himself 'Jetman' and his technology comprises of a set of wings and mini-turbofan engines. With that he flies like a bird. When he puts on the wings and engines, his body become part of the whole flying craft. Leaning his body up down left right, is part of how he controls the flight. He is like a bird.
Yves Rossy on TED
Martin Jetpack
Remember the Jetpack? It's technically called the Rocket Belt. It's used in various public events such as the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. It inspires the mind and causes us to think how wonderful such a flight could be. You just strap it on and you fly up and around buildings above the tree tops. WOW! Unfortunately it only lasts for less than a minute. It is indeed rocket technology. Now, there's a company out there taking the idea of the Rocket Belt and redesigning it for longer flights. It's called the Martin Jetack. It seems to work like the Rocket Belt, but its bigger and does not use rockets. Instead, it uses an engine that powers two ducted fans. The design is impressive. I particularly like the control fins way down low in the path of the ducked fans' thrust. It's absolutely amazing. You should really check out their website here and see their progress. Especially check out the videos. I really get inspired and a tingle up my spine when I see this thing fly. How could you not? Ok, yes, jetpacking is a dream that many have dreamed for a long, long time. Watch the Rocketeer and it has reference to the time period people dreamed of this. It has some really good actors in there, especially Jennifer Connelly. But I digressed. Yeah, this flying free is really cool. Now an off shoot of this is a water jetpack called the Jetlev-Flyer. It makes jetpacking a water sport. It's quite an ingenious and fun application of the jetpack tech. I takes the same configuration as the Rocket Belt. I've also seen a video of an adaptation of it that takes the configuration similar to that of Iron Man. It has main thruster on the feet and stabilizing thrusters on the arms. Really Cool!ITN News
Now let's go high, really high. In fact, let's go out of this world high, literally. The EVA Suit (extra vehicular activity suit) is now commonly used outside of the ISS (international space station). The NASA EVA suits come with a jetpack just incase astronauts and cosmonauts get unattached to the ISS. This gives them the ability to cruise around in orbit. Astronauts have often described EVA suits as your own personal space craft. You have water, heating, cooling, oxygen, air pressure, and toilet capabilities. Hey, those guys are in those things for 8 hours at a time you got to put the stuff somewhere. These things are truly amazing. They allow you to experience space as much as possible without dying. But when did they first test these things? If you think it was during Apollo, your wrong. If you think it was during Gemini, your wrong. If you think it was during Mercury, your wrong. Nope, it was before all of them that these things were tested. One of the most extreme tests was done at the edges of space in Project Excelsior. No, it was not a transwarp drive test run, like trekkies would like to believe. Instead it was a test of the EVA suits by means of a balloon to the height of almost 103,000 feet. The individual had to jump off the balloon at that altitude and parachute down. GULP! That's a huge height. Scardicats need not apply. The man of the hour was Col. Joe Kittenger. WOW! Pilots often say, 'Why jump out of a perfectly good craft?' For years Kittenger remained the highest parachute jump by a man. Now, that record is being challenged, and Kittenger is helping with the project. The Project is called Red Bull Stratos.
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