Ever since watching the "Spy Kids" movies or "The Jetsons," most of us have dreamt of soaring through the sky with a jet pack on our backs. Well, that dream is now becoming more and more of a reality.
On October 13, Jetman Dubai and Emirates airline teamed up to create a choreographed film of two men in jet packs, Yves Rossy and Vince Reffet, flying 4,000 feet in the air alongside an Airbus A380 airline above Dubai. It was low for the airline, but a breathtakingly high altitude for the jet packers. The two men were deployed from a helicopter at 5,500 feet in the air to then fly near the A380.
The intent was to create an eye-catching advertisement, and I think it's safe to say it worked. People all around the world are talking about the incredible event.
But this wasn't their first act. Earlier this year in May, Rossy and Reffet jumped from a plane to jet pack together around the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.
Not receiving the attention anticipated with this first fascinating adventure through the sky, they stepped up their game.
For 10 minutes, each equipped with four engines and a Kevlar wing, the men flew in a choreographed pattern next to the large airline within a limited airspace. But it wasn't all fun and games. According to Fox 40, the flight involved "painstaking planning and preparation," and there were many risks and dangers involved.
CNN quotes Rossy, saying, "We will be mosquitoes, flying with an eagle or a condor."
Emirates and Jetman both got great publicity, but the bigger focus that has come out of this eye-catching stunt is a universal question: when and where can I get mine?
I'm not trying to jetpack next to a massive airplane 4,000 feet in the air, but if this technology is available, why isn't it on the market? Are the American people not trusted with the privilege of flying through the open sky? Jet Pack America has brought water jet packs to life, but only as a water sport.
In New Zealand Martin Jet Pack has revolutionized the invention of the jet pack, a safe and trustworthy one, and claims it will be available no later than 2016. They are expected to be commercially available by the second half of 2016, but the company believes the jet pack would be best suited for emergency response workers.
Nonetheless, Rossy and Reffethave brought life to the fantasized personal aircraft by flying side by side with the Emirates airline through the skies of Dubai.
The video below provides behind-the-scene footage to ensure viewers their flight over Dubai was not staged.