As it stands at this very moment in time, being called “Little Rocket Man” is hardly a compliment.
Two years from now, however, it could not only be a compliment, but also a term denoting an individual of great intelligence and wealth.
That’s because Boeing, in a move that’s surely the basis of a rejected ’90s coming-to-age screenplay, is holding a contest that will award $1 million to the inventor of the world’s first jetpack.
To clarify, there are certainly some jetpack options already in existence, which is why Boeing’s GoFly Prize contest is specifically looking for a “safe, quiet, ultra-compact, near-VTOL personal flying devices capable of flying twenty miles while carrying a single person.”
Furthermore, per contest rules, the winner must be an “everyone” personal flying device that is “capable of being flown by anyone anywhere” regardless of their age or level of experience.
“What the device looks like and how it works is up to the innovators,” says GoFly CEO Gwen Lighter. “We do not mandate that it’s something you get into like a car, or something that you strap on your back, or something that you stand on. We don’t want to say that there is any right way of doing it, since that only limits the possibilities.”
In addition to the $1 million top prize, an extra $1 million will be doled out during different phases of the two-year contest for certain criteria (quietest entry, smallest entry, etc.).
Sign up here, rocketeer.
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