Books

Jet Pack History: New Book Features The Search For Individual Lift Devices (PHOTOS)

PHOTOS: 11 Amazing Images Of Jet Packs (NEW BOOK)
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Steve Lehto's new book The Great American Jet Pack: The Quest for the Ultimate Individual Lift Device ($24.95, Chicago Review Press) looks at science's attempt to create the perfect individual lift device.

Below are 11 images from the book, with captions by Lehto. If this is the future... here are your jet packs.

11 Crazy Jet Packs
De Lackner(01 of11)
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Early Individual Lift Devices started out rather pedestrian. The De Lackner was pretty much an upside-down helicopter but the big advantage was in how it was controlled. The pilot leaned the way he wanted to go – he just had to do it carefully so as not to fall into the counter-rotating blades beneath his feet.
Hiller flying platforms (02 of11)
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Hiller flying platforms were also held aloft by large spinning blades beneath the operator but they were housed in a duct which made the platform look a little safer. Still, what could the operator accomplish while hovering?
Jump belts(03 of11)
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Various companies pitched the notion of a “jump belt” wherein rocket blasts would push or lift a soldier across a battlefield. These bursts, measured in mere seconds, did not accomplish as much as one would have hoped considering the money spent developing them.
The Bell rocket belt (04 of11)
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The Bell rocket belt was a major breakthrough. It allowed a pilot to fly for 21 seconds on a controlled blast of hydrogen peroxide generated steam. This is the device that was most widely publicized and became known to many as a “jet pack.”
Hydrogen peroxide jet packs(05 of11)
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Bell substituted a miniature jet engine for the hydrogen peroxide tanks and suddenly they had a device which could fly for minutes instead of just seconds. But, it was rather expensive to build and still took two hands to fly. What was the practical application?
Jet Belt vs Rocket Belt(06 of11)
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Jet belt on the left, rocket belt on the right.
The WASP(07 of11)
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Searching for even longer flight times, developers modified the engine from the jet belt and built a platform around it. The WASP (Williams Aerial Systems Platform) allows for even longer flight times and can be flown by a non-pilot who simply leans the direction in which he wants to go. It is expensive and the military, again, wonders what the practical application is.
Rocket Belt at the Olympics(08 of11)
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Meanwhile, hobbyists and others keep the rocket belt technology alive. Building the belts on their own, these entrepreneurs provide belts and pilots for flights on television shows and movies, and events like the 1984 Olympics opening ceremonies.
Hobbyists and rocket belts(09 of11)
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An inventor solves the problem of flight times by creating the Jet Lev, which tethers to a fuel supply, trading flight duration (longer) for freedom (less).
The Flying Wing(10 of11)
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Swiss pilot Yves Rossy develops his flying wing, powered by miniature jet engines. He can fly vast distances at great speeds, but launches by dropping out of airplanes or helicopters.It is personal flight, but he cannot launch from the ground.
Go Fast! rocket belt(11 of11)
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Meanwhile the rocket belts continue flying, now in the hands of professional rocket belt pilots and even some amateurs. Here, a professional pilot flies a belt owned by Go Fast! energy supplements.

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