Soon you may be able to fly like a bird!

Well! Well! I thought that might be you hovering out in cyberspace on/in your new Jetpack. Grab yourself a mugga and a virtual treat while I tell you how you may soon be able to do just that - and I'm not talking cyberspace here.

A jetpack prototype developed in New Zealand can undergo manned test flights after aviation authorities gave its developers a flying permit. The chief executive of Martin Aircraft said the certification was a significant milestone in the development of the jetpack, which the company hopes to start selling next year.

"For us it's a very important step because it moves it out of what I call a dream into something which I believe we're now in a position to commercialize and take forward very quickly," Peter Coker said.

The company hopes to start rolling out some models next year

Inventor Glenn Martin began working on the jetpack in his Christchurch garage more than 30 years ago, inspired by childhood television shows such as Thunderbirds and Lost in Space. He aimed to create a jetpack suitable for everyday use by ordinary people with no specialist pilot training.

His jetpack consists of a pair of cylinders containing propulsion fans attached to a free-standing carbon-fibre frame. The pilot backs into the frame, straps himself in and controls the wingless jetpack with two joysticks.

The jetpack comes with a rocket-propelled parachute if anything goes wrong.

The company has been fine-tuning the prototype to turn it into an aircraft that is safe and easy to use. The latest prototype, the P12, incorporated huge design improvements over earlier versions.

"Changing the position of the jetpack's ducts has resulted in a quantum leap in performance over the previous prototype, especially in terms of the aircraft's manoeuvrability," Mr Coker said.

Got windshield wipers on his helmet, does he?  No more traffic jams, eh! Not until everybody and their uncles have these.

See ya, eh!

Bob