Company Auctions History Making Jetpack Flight On eBay

The country that brought the world jet boating and bungee jumping has done it again, by now becoming the 'first' place in the world where you can fly a jetpack.

New Zealand's Martin Aircraft Company unveiled its innovative new aircraft, the Martin Jetpack, to the world last year.

Now they have announced another history making event, an auction on eBay that will allow the winning bidder to become the first person, outside their close development team, to fly the Martin Jetpack as a fully fledged test pilot.

Aviation insiders will understand that it is highly unusual to offer test pilot status by auction. But jetpack inventor Glenn Martin points out "our aim is to make the easiest to fly aircraft in the world.  Because of the fly-by-wire systems we have developed in the last year, we recently had a novice pilot fly solo quite safely with 12 minutes of flight time."

"Whoever wins this auction, whether it's a highly qualified pilot or someone who has never flown before, we will be able to tailor a testing program for the jetpack that matches their skill, adds Glenn."

The winning bidder will have to travel to Christchurch, New Zealand, but once there they will receive Jetpack Test Pilot Training that includes at least 6 flight sessions over 3 days of training.  The experience will be recorded by video camera, and the pilot will be signed off as a Martin Jetpack test pilot, and registered in company records for historical recognition.

Alternatively, they can bring up to 3 friends, who can each share flying duties.

"Before the development of the Martin Jetpack there were more people who had been to the moon than had flown a jetpack" says Martin Aircraft Company's Chief Executive, Richard Lauder.

As a test pilot you will be flying in a controlled environment under the supervision of the Martin Aircraft flight team. This team of specialists has developed systems that have enabled them to complete around 3000 test flights in the last year without injury.

The successful bidder will also get to go behind the scenes with the inventor and spend time with the avionic, technical and design experts who've made the stuff of science fiction novels come to life.

"It's not every day you get the chance to get up close and personal with one of the most exciting inventions in aviation history. If you love aviation or just fancy doing something completely different that you'll be talking about for the rest of your life, then this awe inspiring fantasy flight is for you", says Mr Lauder.

The eBay auction runs until Thursday September 24th. The winner must be over 18 years old, hold a current drivers license and weigh less than 200 pounds. The Martin Jetpack Test Pilot program is held at the Martin Aircraft Company in Christchurch, New Zealand.

When this first historic offer is completed, Martin Aircraft Company's partner in this venture, Total Experience, will make available a very limited number of individual and corporate flying packages in the Martin Jetpack.

FMI: www.martinjetpack.com, www.totalexperience.co.nz