Jet packs in flight and fiction
Buck Rogers' debut
"Zombies of the Stratosphere"
The Republic serial "King of the Rocket Men" (1949) featured Tristram Coffin as Jeff King, an atomic-powered jet pack-wearing fighter of evil-doers.
The helmet and rocket outfit returned to the screen (worn by different heroes) in the 1952 serials "Radar Men of the Moon" and "Zombies of the Stratosphere" (left, with Judd Holdren), and "Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe" (1953).
Rocket Belt
In the late 1950s Bell Aerospace began developing a jet-propelled "rocket belt," for use by the military. Tethered test flights began in 1960, and on April 20, 1961, Harold Graham made the first untethered flight, traveling 100 feet, at an altitude of about four feet, across a field near the Bell Aircraft Factory in Niagara, N.Y.
Graham's rocket belt contained canisters of nitrogen gas and concentrated hydrogen peroxide, producing a superheated water vapor and oxygen propulsion.
Rocket Belt
Personal Propulsion Unit
The Flying Seat
Flying Bond
Bond Gadget
James Bond's jet pack, photographed at the National Motor Museum in Hampshire, England.
"Lost in Space"
Apollo test
Vertical Takeoff and Landing Vehicles
The jet-propelled WASP (Williams Aerial Systems Platform), and a later version called the X-Jet (powered by a modified turbofan aircraft engine), attained speeds up to 60 mph, and could be airborne for 30 minutes or more.
"The Rocketeer"
"The Rocketeer"
1984 Olympics
Jet Packs In Space
Astronaut Bruce McCandless operates the Manned Maneuvering Unit system during a 1984 space shuttle flight. Roll, pitch and yaw controls operated 24 nozzle thrusters using nitrogen propellent.
Martin Jetpack
The New Zealand-based Martin Aircraft Company began producing the Martin Jetpack as a tool for first responders. The company is also developing jetpacks for recreational use.
Martin Jetpack
The Martin Jetpack is capable of reaching altitudes above 800 feet, and traveling at nearly 50 mph.
Jetman
Swiss professional pilot Yves Rossy, the world's first man to fly with fitted jet fuel-powered wings strapped to his back, flies during his first official demonstration, on May 14, 2008 above Bex, Switzerland.
Jetman
Released from a plane at an altitude of 8,000 feet, Yves Rossy completed several loops at a speed of more than 180 mph, using only his body to change position during his five-minute flight over the Swiss Alps.
Jetman
Rossy's wing, featuring four Jet-Cat P200 engines, is powered by kerosene and turbine oil and weighs 121 pounds when fully-fueled.
"I Do"
Birdman Competition
Rocket Belt Down Under
Australian jet pilot David Mayman, subject of the Discovery Channel film, "Rocket Compulsion," demonstrates his self-built jet pack in Sydney in 2013.
Jetman
For more info:
Flying Into the Future (americanrocketman.com)
David Mayman/"Rocket Compulsion" on Facebook
"The Rocketeer" series (IDW Publishing)
"The Great American Jet Pack: The Quest for the Ultimate Individual Lift" by Steve Kehto (Chicago Review Press)
Former Bell Aircraft Factory, Niagara, N.Y.
"Thunderball" (MGM)
"The Rocketeer" (Disney)
By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan