Last month I saw a post on Facebook about the new Water Jetpack Adventure in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. I thought it sounded interesting but never followed up.

The Art of Design painter Dean Loucks gets lifted in Lake Havasu.Well, during the lunch stop of the Desert Storm Poker Run, I sat down for a quick chat with Dean Loucks, legendary The Art of Design painter who was in town to visit with customers and sell his fine art, a lot of which features performance boats.

Anyway, Loucks had a huge ear-to-ear smile while he was telling me about the flying experience he had over the lake. He said he saw some guy with a jetpack, and remembered reading about one in Miami , so he approached the owner. The owner told Loucks he rented it out, so the artist, who is also a helicopter pilot, had to try it out. “And it was the best $200 I’ve ever spent,” Loucks said.

Dubbed the Jetlev R200 water jetpack the system includes the jetpack (and stand), a hose assembly, the powerplant/boat and remote throttle control. According to the company website, the top speed is around 25 mph and the flight ceiling is 30 feet. With a 22-gallon fuel capacity, the jetpack has up to an 80-mile range. Oh yeah, and you can pick up your own for $99,500.

“I seriously want to buy one…it’s cheaper than a helicopter,” Loucks laughed. “But seriously, it pretty flew like a helicopter. It was best to make slower, gradual movements. Once I got the hang of it, man what a great experience. Can you imagine going up and down the coast on that thing?”

Don’t be surprised if you see Loucks with a custom-painted jetpack soon enough.