Jetpack

The first ever jet suit race has been held in Dubai. Racers each wrestled the thrust from seven 130-hp jet turbines to levitate and negotiate a course in spectacular head-to-head duels – and the event delivered the sport's first jet suit crash.

Gentlemen, start your turbines – it's time to see how these spectacular next-gen personal flight devices look and perform in the fire of competition. Gravity Industries has announced the world's first jet suit race is happening in less than a month.

While we've seen a number of wearable underwater propulsion systems, they've typically been strapped to the user's arms or legs. The CudaJet is different, in that it's a true backpack-style underwater jetpack.

Wisconsin's Ascend Dynamics has been flight-testing an 80-lb (36-kg) electric jetpack device with 12 coaxial rotors and an aluminum trellis frame. The company hopes to raise enough cash to build a powerful carbon fiber version for production.

JetPack Aviation CEO David Mayman says the company is in discussions with the Air Race World Championship team on starting a world-first race series in September that would see jetpack pilots competing on parallel aerial obstacle courses.

A milestone for California's JetPack Aviation today. Six years after David Mayman's historic jetpack flight around the Statue of Liberty, the company has made its first two sales: a pair of 6-jet, 120 mph JB-12 jetpacks to an unnamed military buyer.

Last month, we reported on astonishing first flight footage from the Copterpack, an Australian electric personal flight device. Now, eagle-eyed pixel peepers have scrutinized the video and presented evidence that a tether wire has been edited out.

A green alternative to the humble kerosene-burning jetpack? Video shows an Australian man rising high off the ground using a two-rotor electric personal flight device he calls the Copterpack. It's bulky, but looks surprisingly stable and controllable.

Flying super-marines may soon be a thing. Gravity Industries has teamed up with the UK Royal Marines to demonstrate its Iron Man-style jet suit in a ship boarding exercise, and has released video of the results.

Richard Browning's Jet Suit may have a lock on cool, but now it's looking for practical applications. GNAAS has collaborated with Gravity Industries on a test flight in the Lake District to see if the flight system could be used by paramedics.

In a stunning new video, jet wing pilot Yves Rossy has proved he doesn't need to drop out of a plane or helicopter to fly any more. He can now levitate off the ground using a new autonomous VTOL system that looks like an almost relaxing way to fly.

​We've been reporting on David Mayman and Jetpack Aviation for some years now, and this weekend he was in Sydney with his roaring jet turbine JB-10 jetpack to take another stab at a flight he tried to perform 10 years ago. We were privileged to watch this stunning flight in person.