If somebody tells you they're building a flying motorcycle, it's probably appropriate to reply "yeah, right." But if that somebody is jetpack guru David Mayman, it's worth your while listening, because Mayman has some seriously impressive achievements under his belt.

For starters, by the age of 35 he'd already built a successful mining consultancy company in his home country of Australia, then sold it, made some smart investments in the internet sector, and retired. Very few people ever get to put themselves in that kind of position, and doubtless doors were open for Mayman to strike out into further business ventures, or simply relax into a life of luxury.

But Mayman had a dream, as well as the patience, persistence and means to make it happen. That dream was to build a jetpack – something like the one flown at the 1984 LA Olympics, but with a flight time much longer than the 30-odd seconds the original rocket belt could handle on its limited hydrogen peroxide rocket fuel. And after meeting fellow jetpack addict and engineer Nelson Tyler, the pair formed a small company called Jetpack Aviation, and flat out made it happen.