Dennis RomeroUpdate at 1:37 p.m. Monday: Looks like he made it. First posted at 7:05 a.m. Friday.
As much of Southern California bakes during the start of a heatwave and L.A. cowers under the shadow of another Carmageddon freeway shutdown, one adventurer will brave the outdoors to go where no man has gone before.
Dean O'Malley will start his engines, blast into the air, and attempt a world record by travelling 26 miles over the Pacific from Newport Beach to Catalina Island … using a jet pack.
Yeah, this guy's going Jetsons on it:
The 36-year-old will take off from the M Street Pier at the end of the Balboa Peninsula following a 7 a.m. news conference Saturday, he says.
His journey, should he complete it, will follow the flight path of Glenn Martin's 1912 trip to Santa Catalina in a home-built seaplane.
O'Malley is the president of JetLev Southwest, maker of jet packs. And clearly, he is quite shy about promoting the product. (We kid).
O'Malley states:
I've always tried to push my own perceived limitations. What I've learned over the years is that most people have the capability to do a lot of things, but the fear is what usually keeps people from trying them. When you work through the doubt to pull something off, you realize just how much potential we all have.
Credit: jetlevsouthwest.com
He says the best viewing locations include:
-Newport Beach's Wedge surf spot.
-Corona Del Mar state beach's jetty.
-Corona Del Mar's Inspiration Point park
-On-board a boat at the entrance to Newport Harbor.
Place your bets. Good luck, Dean.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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