WATCH: JetPackMan Flies Around Dublin

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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a man flying around Dublin with a jetpack. That’s the scene that unfolded in the Irish capital this week when Nick Macomber, also known as JetPackMan, decided to beat the traffic with a jetpack strapped to his back.

Videos posted online immediately after the race show Macomber flying swiftly above the River Liffey, over Ha’penny Bridge, and landing safely on a pontoon in the middle of the river. The event took many by surprise, but was apparently a marketing stunt for Samsung’s new model smartphone. We can say with certainty that it worked, and it looked stunning.

Macomber, a US daredevil, has been flying jetpacks for the past four years since he started working with an aviation enthusiast while studying engineering in San Diego, he told TheJournal.ie. The friendly enthusiast was working on jetpacks for a project and gave Macomber a chance to fly one.

Macomber managed to become a jetpack flier by being dumb enough to fly it and smart enough to figure it out.” At the time when he first started flying, Macomber explained, more people had walked on the moon than flown jetpacks.

The technology for jetpacks has been around since the 1960s, but only in the last 10 years or so has it become viable.

The flight in question only lasted 28 seconds, as this is the time range which the hydrogen peroxide powered contraptions can pull off at this stage. Jetpack International, the company behind the device, hopes to improve that record with the next generation models.

“We’re developing a new piece of technology that could change the world and could give flight to a lot more people,” Macomber explained.