An Aussie inventor just jetpacked around the Statue of Liberty

The daring man behind the stunt was David Mayman, an Australian entrepreneur and CEO of Jetpack Aviation. But JetPack Aviation has finally created something that’s only been done a couple of times since 1919: build a working jetpack that’s powered by actual jet engines.

Granted, it’s a very different type of jetpack than the jet-propelled wing worn by Jetman, whose adrenaline-pumped videos we wrote about on several occasions.

More than 40 years in the making, the JB-9 is supposedly the smallest and lightest jetpack ever made.

When it comes to “the technology of the future” – whether it be flying cars, teleportation, or robot maids – many still wonder when the inventions dreamed up by Hollywood will become a reality.

As the company states in the blog, it was the “culmination of a 10-year challenge” to engineer a jetpack lightweight enough to safely allow a person to take flight.

The JB-9 uses jet turbine technology that is capable of 100 mile-per-hour flight at altitutudes of up to 10,000 feet.

“It would be wonderful if one day this opens the door to a vast new industry of affordable personal air transportation with applications for search and rescue, law enforcement, disaster relief and recreation”, said Nelson Tyler, the company’s chief designer, in a statement.

Video of the JB-9’s maiden voyage, which was conducted with approval from both the FAA and U.S. Coast Guard can be seen below. The company hopes to eventually release a JB-series Jetpack to the consumer market, but there is now no projected timeframe for launch.