I can't imagine that it would be even remotely possible to carry enough water to generate the necessary thrust to get you (and your water) off the ground for more than a second or two. It just wouldnt work out.

The only thing i can imagine is that its tethered to the ground, and the water is pumped in via tether. But there are obvious limitations with that too, in terms of altitude and distance. So whats the point here?

The best part, IMO, is the thumbs-up that the pilot's giving us.

Everything's going to be A-OK.

It could be tested in one of those Japanese endurance shows. I think item 24 is going to cause the most pain if something goes wrong!

The ilustration shows what looks like a water line attatched to a small buoy. It appears that the jet pack is only usefull crossing bodies of water. That would make it some sort of pond-hopping toy. I would rather have a Maule (single engine 4 seat plane) on amphibious floats. It would be far safer and you can bring friends along.

[video.google.com]

Myth busters did this - also - does appear as though item # 14 is some kind of remote supply device - my thought is - considering water-jet cutting technology - this could be as harmful as combustibles.
@SCRAG - too funny!

Yeah, the Mythbusters busted the Japanese TV show version. It was aparently faked.

Didn't Nintendo already invent this gadget in Super Mario Sunshine for the GameCube?

Clearly, item #14 is the pile you leave behind as you poo yourself on takeoff. _That's_ why the pilot is giving the 'thumbs-up'!

@thm73: It doesnt even need to be jet-cutting levels of power either. My dad took off half the skin on his hand with a regular power-washer that you can buy at any Home Depot.

@Terranova:
DAMN YOU TERRANOVA! WHY CAN'T I BE THE FIRST ONE TO MAKE A WITTY NINTENDO REFERENCE?!

This is an insanely stupid idea. Obviously patented by someone with no engineering background or common sense. Good luck with this one.

One place this could gain practical use is in fire rescues. People might not have to jump out the windows of burning buildings if a fireman can hover up to them, and not pose a risk of blowing up.

How bout I just drink about 4 liters of beer then I can piss my way into orbit? Seems just as plausible.

I thought most jet packs used compressed nitrogen or relied on an H2O2 reaction.

The trick here is you don't carry any water with you in the air. The pack is being supplied from a pump on the ground. Or water as he has it planned out. A hose runs up to the pack with high pressure water and the pack simply points it down. I think it would work, but you're still attached to the ground by the hose.

Fig.1 looks like that Jason Chen illustration you guys post occasionally.

Water-powered human bee flying. I'll be the guy on the ground, so I can have a laugh when I turn off the hose.

@Kaiser-Machead: Hmmm, whats this lever do?

I saw this article and noticed something a bit off. No [modern] jet pack uses any fire at all. They use hydrogen peroxide and a catalyst (such as magnesium oxide). The catalyst causes the the peroxide to decay rapidly into oxygen and water. The reaction creates enough energy to force water out of the pack and propel the user into the air.
If you're feeling risky, you can see the reaction for yourself. Buy some hydrogen peroxide from the corner store and mix in some magnesium oxide (you can get this by carefully breaking open a dry cell battery.) Mix a little bit together and is should bubble and become hot. Its not too dangerous, but for you own sake do this outside wearing gloves and goggles.
In short, this is nothing new.

@DeadWriter: Hydrogen peroxide? Really? Now I'm going to have to do more research... screw work!

Ok, geek cred for anyone else that remembers this..
The MacGyver episode with his long-lost son. They're trapped in a cargo hold of a giant freighter. MacGyver uses steering wheels and a firehose to jury-rig jetpacks to fly out of there. Don't ask me why I remember this, I haven't seen MacGyver for years.