OC Man Travels 26.2 Miles On Jet Pack, Sets World Record

NEWPORT BEACH (CBSLA.com) — An Orange County man set a world record on Saturday for the longest flight on a jet pack.

Extreme-athlete Dean O'Malley used a jet pack made by his company, JetLev Southwest, to fly from Newport Beach all the way to Catalina Island.

The 26.2-mile trip took four-and-a-half hours.

He stayed close to the water to keep up speed and save fuel.

Art Barron, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, said the trip used up 45 gallons of gas.

O'Malley told Barron he was attempting the world record, "just to prove that it can be done."

"It's one of those things where people talk about. It should be do-able, but is it do-able," he said earlier Saturday.

The record-setting trip occurred on the 100th anniversary of aviator Glenn L. Martin's historic flight to Catalina from Newport Beach.