http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/indu...-to-raise-cash
I'm in!!
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As Sam Morgan said - it is a solution trying to find a problem to solve.
personally I think the Hulme sports car was more marketable and we know what happened to that capital raising.
I just dont see a huge market for it. Drones are the future for the military.
Useful article in SST a few weeks ago.
The very last sentence is the key one when considering an IPO takeup. I can't see a profitable market so for that reason I'm not in until one is presentedQuote:
In addition, since 2007 Rex Bionics has received $1.25m in grants from the government-funded Foundation for Science, Research and Technology (Forst). The makers of the Martin Jetpack have received $1.09m from Forst since 2008.
"The problem with Rex, and the Jetpack and everything else," says Slack, "is that it's the government funding people's hobbies. People go `wow' when they see it, but turning around and asking someone to pay for it is an entirely different matter."
Take the Jetpack, says Slack. It's been under development for a quarter of a century, but the spectre of "reinvention" looms large, despite the proprietary technology and patents.
"There's nothing wrong with it. But other people have achieved similar objectives using other technology, which is vertical take-off and landing; and to fly for long duration at a reasonable speed and controllability. People have achieved that with a number of devices over the past 50 years."
If you don't believe Slack, just get Googling and there they are: video clips and funny photos of personal flying machines from the "Hiller flying platform" to the "Williams Wasp", from the "Bell Rocket Belt" to the US Marine Corp's "Small Tactical Aerial Mobility Platform" programme. There are also a few tiny helicopters that look pretty nifty.
These machines have all flown successfully, says Slack. Several of them are even featured in the "history" section of the Martin Jetpack website, so it's not as if their existence is a surprise to Martin Aviation.
"But none, to my knowledge, have been commercially successful. It would therefore appear that the challenge is not technology [where all of the investment has gone], but understanding the market for these things."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...g-easyJet.html
Or maybe this?
Presumably the Jet pack will come with the Chihuahua carrier as an optional extra.
So thats a hands free version of teh jetpack so you can take photos.Quote:
and exploring interesting areas
Lower than a 8m freefall, slower than a fly-by wire, heavier than a parachute, more expensive than a bunjy jump. Shorter flight time than a microlight. The marketing people will no doubt see the opportunity.Quote:
Adventure sports, for skydiving and those type of companies are 2 markets.
Getting past civil aviation rules will be a challenge. Do you seriously think an adventure operator will let some hungover German loose on one?Quote:
Easy to set up a business in Rotorua and Queenstown.
They would be good for crossing small stretches of water , but what would you do when you reached the other side?
Couldnt exactly carry it around with you