jet-pack

Perhaps nothing even remotely associated with Rupert Murdoch could possibly be funny this weekend. Perhaps nothing even remotely associated with Rupert Murdoch could go right either.

But sometimes, when things go wrong, they can actually be amusing. So here (thank you so much, Gizmodo) is a Fox 5 News morning broadcast from the water in San Diego.

The producers clearly had a great idea. They had their presenter at the San Diego Yacht and Boat Show standing next to a man with a revolutionary aqua jet pack.

They were going to start the show by having Aqua Jet Pack Man take off. So very cute. And then.

Well, and then the JetLev R200 jet pack proved to need a little more rehearsal.

Or, more likely, it was the operator who wasn't quite ready to push the right button when the producer told him he was live.

Whatever the reason, there is something so very charming about the way that John, the man with pack, plummets straight into the water, almost taking the very fine and brave Fox 5 presenter with him.

I defy anyone who can still see and feel their feet not to lose a little equilibrium at the beginning of this video. Clearly, the JetLev R200 is a fine, fun machine that many will enjoy on future summer vacations. Indeed, the San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker enjoyed one a few days ago in Saint-Tropez.

But he's merely a point guard, not someone who has to open what is, no doubt, San Diego's finest morning news show.

And no, I don't believe you can remotely hack an aqua jet pack.… Read more

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded

Facebook launches the Open Compute Project, a collaboration with hardware manufacturers, aimed at making more energy-efficient Web-centric computers

The FCC adopts new rules on roaming rates and cell phone signal boosters

T-Mobile confirms that the Sidekick 4G will cost $99 when it launches April 20

Atari Greatest Hits brings vintage Atari titles to the iPad and iPhone

The personal jet pack takes a 7-minute flight in New Zealand, a new record.

The three-year wait for a recreational jetpack may be almost over--assuming regulators give their approval.

New Zealand's Martin Aircraft said that its Martin Jetpack--which has a 200-horsepower piston gasoline engine that powers a couple of ducted fans--remained aloft for more than seven minutes in its latest test. That may not be enough time to get you to the store and back, but it represents a record.

A man on the ground flew the Martin Jetpack by radio control; a weighted dummy, "Jetson," served as the pilot. No mention yet on an updated timetable for putting a human through a rigorous series of test runs, though the company has previously said that it's on track to do just that sometime in the current quarter.

The jetpack itself is 5 feet tall and 5.5 feet wide and made of a carbon fiber composite with a pinch of Kevlar for the rotor. It uses regular gasoline and will travel a grand distance of 31.5 miles at a maximum speed of 63 mph, which should comfortably take you from home to office (and back) in a jiffy, and with a lot of noise. … Read more

It's the stuff of science fiction and James Bond. Strap a jet pack to your back and fly like a bird--sort of. But jet packs are science fiction no more.

It's 1,500 feet across from cliff to cliff, and more than 1,000 chilling feet down to the bottom of the Royal Gorge on the Arkansas River near Canon City, Colo.

"You're going to see me on the other side. This isn't an 'Evel-Knievel, get-a-lot-of-media-out-and-just-screw-it-up' gig, you know," stuntman Eric Scott told CBS station KCNC-TV correspondent Rick Sallinger prior to the flight. … Read more

For those of you who've lost hope that you'll ever have a robot butler or drive a hovercraft, here's a glimmer of possibility: a jet pack! Thunderbolt Aerosystems has developed the Thunderpack, a "rocket belt" that can propel you through the air at up to 75 miles per hour. Okay, so it will only fly for 45 seconds. And it'll cost you $100,00 to buy one. Then there's the fact that I'm sure a few safety-freakish representatives of Congress will do everything in their power to keep these out of the … Read more

First Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo unveiling and now a new jetpack? Somebody forgot to tell me that it's Worldwide Wacko Futurist Pipe-Dream Week.

A company called Thunderbolt Aerosystems announced this week the release of the Thunderpack, which "represents more than a decade's worth of effort to apply modern rocket fuels and propulsion technologies to create a practical and economical personal air vehicle." It'll fly you around for a total of 75 seconds. That's certainly an improvement over a jetpack at the Wirefly X Prize Cup in 2006 that could stay aloft for a mere … Read more

If there was ever a case where we would strongly encourage competition, this would be it--and the products in question have barely hit the market.

In March we lusted unabashedly for a Jetson-style "Rocket Belt" being developed in Mexico, but its $250,000 price tag put it slightly out of range for a Father's Day gift. Only a few months later, however, we learn that Jetpack International is offering a rival model that's "competitive priced" at only $155,000, according to Popular Mechanics. Still a tad steep for us, but that's a pretty … Read more

We hope this isn't a hoax, because it's something we really want. Badly.

Everyone has fantasized about having a Jetsons-type jet pack, most likely while stuck in traffic. That supposedly can now become a reality, with a futuristic setup called the "Rocket Belt" from Mexico's Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana that's built specifically for your personal dimensions.

"The service includes a fully tested custom rocket belt, a machine to help you make your own rocket fuel, hands-on training including 10 flights in your own rocket belt and expert support," Luxist reports. Wait a minute ... … Read more