JetPack Aviation will never be confused with Stark Industries and Chief Executive David Mayman will never be confused with Iron Man. But the two companies – one located in Van Nuys, the other in the fictional Marvel Universe – share the goal of making jetpack technology a practical reality. Stark did it with the Iron Man suit while JetPack Aviation has the JB-10, a portable jet turbine-powered flying machine that Mayman has demonstrated in the U.S. and Europe. The company was started in 2006 by Mayman, an Australian with a background in aviation who has dabbled in corporate development, investment management and mergers and acquisitions, and Nelson Tyler, who runs a business in Van Nuys building camera mounts attached to helicopters used for filming movies and by police agencies. JetPack Aviation shares space at Tyler’s camera mount company housed in a four-building compound. Multiple versions Currently, the pair are working on the tenth prototype of their jetpack. It began with 12 engines; that was reduced to eight engines and finally to a two-engine version that Mayman has piloted in demonstration flights in New York, London, Monaco and Long Beach. “There has been a lot of work in 10 years,” Tyler said. “All these variations come along to what we have now.” Found in the shop area at Tyler Camera Systems are the older models of the jetpack, as well as the rocket belt, a low power propulsion device from Bell Aerosystems that Tyler developed for commercial use. One well-known stunt had Bill Suitor flying a Tyler-made rocket belt in the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympic games at the Los Angeles Coliseum. To raise the $1 million needed to complete development and commercialize its product, JetPack Aviation has turned to equity crowdfunding through StartEngine.com. It has also sold one of its machines for $250,000 to an investor. “Nelson is probably the only guy in the world who has sold not only the first civilian rocket belt back in 1986, he is also the first guy to sell a functional jetpack anywhere,” said Stefano Paris, the chief engineer at JetPack Aviation. The company plans to market the device to first responders, the military and wealthy individuals. Training to use the jetpack is done at a facility in Moorpark. A fixture in science fiction comic books and novels since the 1920s, practical jetpacks powered either by hydrogen peroxide or turbojet engines began to be developed in the 1950s. Dick Knapinski, spokesman for the Experimental Aircraft Association, in Oshkosh, Wisc., called jetpacks an interesting piece of technology that has drawn interest from aviation enthusiasts. “They have looked at jetpacks and flying cars and go, ‘When does the future become now?’” Knapinski said. When it comes to new technology, whether drones or jetpack, there are three challenges, Knapinski explained. First comes the engineering that makes flight possible; second, regulations on the new technology’s use; and finally, the market potential of who will buy the device and if they can be manufactured at a price point available to the public. “The concept is great,” Knapinski said of jetpacks. “It’s fun, it’s interesting, it’s innovative. Is it practical? Time will tell.” Crowded airspace Competition in the jetpack field includes Martin Jetpack, a New Zealand company that has been working on its device for more than 20 years, and Jetpack International in Denver, a newer entrant whose chief executive, Troy Widgery, also owns an energy drink company. But the Martin jetpack is bulky and its weight comes in at more than 400 pounds, compared to the 80 pounds of Tyler’s machine. Both Martin and Jetpack International have not made any sales of their flying machines. Widgery, Tyler said, uses his jetpack as a way to promote his Go Fast drink. “He takes the rocket belt to venues where people will see it and he has a big truck with the energy drink in it,” he added. The demonstration flights by Mayman have all taken place over water. The New York flight, for instance, happened near the Statue of Liberty, while the one in Long Beach had the Queen Mary as a backdrop. This was done so that if something went wrong, Mayman would just get wet instead of hitting solid ground. Because safety looms as an issue for jetpackers, the JB-10 has systems in case of problems with the engines or fuel. An engine motor is connected to a warning display on the hand control and if the green light turns yellow or red, then it’s time to land, said Paris, the engineer. Also the controls feature a low fuel warning indicator. “It will flash vigorously red when you have about a minute, minute and a half left of flight time, when you are down to the last few gallons of fuel,” Paris said. Another safety feature still in the research phase is a parachute system that will analyze the engine and if it determines an imminent failure, it will fire a rocket with the chute. “It would all have to work in a half-second,” Tyler said. “That is a big project and it takes money.” Money is something that JetPack has – but it will need more in a few months, Tyler predicted. In total, he and Mayman have put about $4 million into the venture, with another $277,664 raised from more than 300 investors contributing toward the $1 million crowdfunding goal. While the U.S. military has shown interest in the flying machine, that interest has not included any money. The company is working with the U.S. Navy under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement on the jetpack technology. Under such an agreement, the government works with a company to speed up commercialization of a promising product but the government is under no obligation to buy it. “They want it, but we have to prove it,” Tyler said. “We are starting to train a Navy guy out in Moorpark (this month).”