In case you missed it…yes, Rocket Man has been around for many years. Question: How many hours of actual flight time do you guess the Bell rocket belt flew? Answer below…
Check out a more modern version of the jet pack!
The man behind the flying machine was Wendell Moore, a Bell Aerospace engineer who came up with the idea to place rocket thrusters on the nose and wings of the Bell X-1 airplane, which Chuck Yeager flew to break the sound barrier.
The belt Moore designed resembled a backpack, carrying two tanks of hydrogen peroxide and nitrogen and weighing 120 pounds. According to science reporter Brian Malow, “The nitrogen pushes the hydrogen peroxide propellant into a chamber where it mixes violently with a catalyst, producing a high-pressure steam that flows out the twin nozzles to provide thrust.” The average flight of the jet pack allows passengers to float in the air for 21 seconds. – Bell Textron
Answer to the question above: The Bell jetpack had about 1,200 flights in 35 years, adding up to six and a half hours of total flight time. (Source Bell Textron)
Featured image courtesy of Bell Textron
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