The chief executive of a leading jetpack firm reveals how he copes with being scared of heights.
A former commercial pilot who has carried out about 500 jetpack test flights has admitted that he does not like heights.
« I can look out of the window of an aeroplane no problem, » David Mayman, chief executive of Jetpack Aviation, told the BBC.
« But even being in the office when I look out of the window I feel the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. »
He added that his secret to being able to fly was: « I try not to look down. »
Jetpack Aviation is at the CES tech show in Las Vegas to show off a prototype of its latest jetpack model, the JB-11.
It can fly as high as 15,000ft (4,572m) for up to 12 minutes.
Its top speed is 200mph (321 km/h) and the maximum distance it can travel in a single journey is about 20 miles.
It can carry a person weighing up to 120kg (265lb).
The machine is powered by six turbo jet engines and carries 25 litres (5.4 gallons) of fuel.
The controls are a mixture of manual and computer control, Mr Mayman said.
Tilting the joystick-like handles down changes the vector of the thrust, pushing the device backwards.
« I think it’s as close as you get to that dream of the magic carpet, just being able to float gently above the ground. »
Mr Mayman said most of his firm’s clients are military, including the US Special Forces, but that one day the jetpack could also be a useful tool for the emergency services.
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He added that he personally became involved with the business almost by accident.
« I became a jetpack pilot [because] I couldn’t convince anyone to fly the thing when we first started developing it 10 years ago, » he recalled.
« So, I ended up being chief executive and crash test dummy.
« When I’m in the jetpack I look at the horizon and I try not to look down past my feet.
« I get butterflies in my tummy and the blood rushes from my brain. »
He added that his own experience suggested that jetpacks would not become a common mode of transport, at least in their current form.
« In the future what everybody will fly with is something you would sit on, » he said.
« Something more comfortable than this. »
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