New | 'Elon Musk of China' aims to give the world a commercial jetpack - but is it just flight of fancy?
Dr Liu Ruopeng is an ambitious man. One of his dreams is to produce the long-awaited flying jackets that can allow people to travel in the air without getting on a plane.
Dr Liu Ruopeng is an ambitious man. One of his dreams is to produce the long-awaited flying jackets that can allow people to travel in the air without getting on a plane.
This goal has earned him the nickname “the Elon Musk of China” in the local media, after the Canadian-American billionaire founder of electric car maker Tesla and owner of rocket company SpaceX, of whom Liu is a big fan.
The 32-year-old Liu, who has a doctorate in electronic engineering from Duke University, is the president of the Shenzhen-based Kuang-Chi Institute of Advanced Technology and the chairman of KuangChi Science, an emerging technology and innovation firm listed in the Hong Kong stock market.
Liu recently made headlines on the mainland after acquiring a controlling share in the company that makes the Martin Jetpack, an experimental ducted-fan-based gadget that can propel a person in the air like Iron Man.
It was invented by New Zealander Glenn Martin, who has been dedicated to its research since 1981. In tests, the Martin Jetpack has successfully been able to carry a payload of up to 120kg and to fly at 35 kilometres per hour at an altitude of 1,500 metres.
Now with Kuang-Chi Science’s acquisition of a 52 per cent stake, the inventor’s firm Martin Aircraft is likely to manufacture Jetpacks with Kuang-Chi.