Want to fly? Dania Beach company makes water-powered jet-packs for $100,000 each

If you've ever fantasized about jetting above the waves, a South Florida company makes and sells your dream machine – for the lofty price of nearly $100,000.

JetLev Technologies Inc. of Dania Beach has sold about 70 of its water-powered jet packs so far this year, mainly to companies that rent them and to yacht charters that want to lure guests with the latest luxury toys, said marketing manager Raphie Aronowitz.

Jay Oofterhouse rents one to visitors in Key West.

"Most people are up and flying on their own in about five minutes," said Oofterhouse. Customers generally glide 10 to 15 feet above the water at about 5 mph, he said.

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"You're weightless, and that's the exhilarating part of it," he said.

JetPack Adventures of Key West charges about $250 for a ride on a catamaran, a lesson on how to fly the jet pack and a chance to fly the device for about 45 minutes, Oofterhouse said. The company, affiliated with JetLev, began offering the rides in June.

The brain behind the machines is Raymond Li, an accountant by training. At age 14, he saw James Bond soar with a jet pack in the 1965 movie Thunderball and dreamed of flying one.

Three decades later, when he couldn't find one he wanted to buy, Li turned inventor. He came up with the concept after riding a water scooter. He figured flying above water would be safer than soaring above land, with the water serving as a cushion.

His machine, the JetLev R200, has two parts: a floating pod like a water scooter that holds the 200-hp engine and the jet pack worn by the flier. The engine pushes water up a 33-foot hose to the pack on the pilot's back. The water then rushes out of tubes on each side of the pack.

The pressure of the released water is similar to water rushing from a garden hose, said Oofterhouse: "You can put your hand in, and it won't affect you."

The flier controls the speed and flight path from the jet pack. In addition, an instructor on shore or someone inside a nearby launch boat also have back-up controls to slow or stop the engine. The pilot can't go higher than 30 feet or faster than about 28 mph, JetLev managers said.

Li said the machine has U.S. Coast Guard approval, and instructors are certified. There have been no reports of injuries after thousands of flights, the JetLev executives said.

Li plans to develop different jet pack models that will cost less and let more people feel like they're riding a "magic carpet."

For now, his company has a dozen employees at its Griffin Road headquarters. It took orders for dozens of its machines from contacts made at last month's Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. Many will be shipped in the spring, Aronowitz said.

The suggested retail price of $99,500 applies only for basic paint: portal white, deep black and fire red. Want something spiffier, add $3,500 for premium paint in other colors.

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