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."
Martin Jetpack. Maybe an IPO in the offing
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Nevl
I'm not. 
Bookmarks