With no parachute and no safety net, Eric Scott flew under jet-pack power across the 1,053-foot-deep Royal Gorge, in Colorado, on Monday. The 24-second flight carried him safely across the 1,500-foot-wide gorge to a gentle stand-up landing. Scott, 45, had previously flown the JetPack International system but never for more than a few hundred yards. “I had no idea how fast I could get here, and I just found out,” Scott said after landing. “The winds were blowing out there. I tell you, concrete never felt so good.” He has been piloting various forms of jetpacks for 16 years. The Jet-Pack device weighs about 135 pounds and carries about 33 seconds worth of hydrogen-peroxide fuel. The company developed it to be used for stunts and promotional events. Click here to see a video of the flight, from The Denver Post.
Troy Widgery, founder of the company that sponsors the Jet Pack, told the Post that by sometime next year he expects to release a more user-friendly pack with three turbine jets that can fly for nine minutes.
