Adams, Douglas, 176–177
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), 80, 81, 156, 158
Aerojet-General, 24–25, 26, 28, 29, 35
AiResearch. See Garrett AiResearch
Amarena, Carmelo “Nino,” 138–139, 146, 151–155
Amazing Stories, 1
American Flying Belt, 126
American Rocketbelt Corporation, 122–125
Andreev, A. F., 19
Army Aviation Materiel Command, 80
ARPA. See Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)
Association of Romanian Engineers, 185
backpack devices, practicality of, 25
Baldschun, Clyde, 57–58, 69, 118–119
Barker, Brad, 120–129, 179–180
Baumet, Carolyn, 146
Belco, Gene, 34
Bell Aerosystems. See also Moore, Wendell F.
documentation on hydrogen peroxide, 140
flying platforms by, 65–68
jet belts and, 75–76, 80, 82–83, 84
marketing research by, 46, 84–85
POGO flying platforms by and, 65–66
proposal to TRECOM by, 24, 29, 30–42
requests for demonstrations to, 49–50
Bell Rocket Belts, 33–35, 48, 56-59, 72–73, 179
Bengtsson, Erik, 136, 139–140, 141, 146, 153
Bohr, A. H., 28
Borge, Victor, 74
Breitling, 172
British Grand Prix, 73
Brown, Paul, 181
Bulaga, Robert, 156–159
Buzz bomb, 181
Caillette, M., 63–64
California State Fair, 70–71
Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, 16
Cape Canaveral, 56, 82, 164–165
Capra, Justin, 184–188
carbon fiber material, 138, 152, 162, 169, 171
Chrysler Turbine Car, 72
The Clipper of the Clouds (Verne), 1
Clough, Kathleen Lennon, 145, 146, 148, 149
Collier’s (magazine), 11–12
Connery, Sean, 71–72
controls. See kinesthetic control; pitch and roll controls; reaction controls; yaw controls
Courter, Robert F., Jr.
on Donald Underwood’s fear, 107
flies chair assembly, 65
interview in Popular Mechanics, 59–62
joins Williams Research, 91
locations where he flew rocket belt, 72
at Paris Air Show, 59
pilots jet belt, 87–89
selected as rocket belt pilot, 57–58
stays at Bell Aerosystems, 74
test flight of WASP by, 95–96
test flights of WASP II by, 103-104, 113–114
WASP training for non-pilots by, 109–112
Cummings, Robert, 186
DARPA. See Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)
de Lackner DH-4 Aerocycle, 15-16, 161, 179
de Lackner Helicopters, 15
Dinulescu, Calin, 184–186
Disney World, 120
Dr. Sam Williams Jet Age Gallery, 180
Duratron Incorporated, 125, 126
EFV-4A, 159
EFV-4B, 159
Ethafoam, 35
Exoskeletal Flying Vehicle (XFV), 157, 159
Experimental Aircraft Association, 161
F1 Grand Prix, 155
“Feasibility Study of Small-Rocket Lift Device” (Aerojet-General), 26, 28
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 61, 163, 165, 171, 175–176
Fitzgerald, Raymond, 109
flamethrowers, 17
Flight (magazine), 11, 13–14, 59, 64, 90, 91
flight time
rocket belt, 37, 45–46, 48, 52, 54, 123, 126
Thunderbolt, 152
ThunderPack, 139
flying belts. See jet belts; rocket belts
flying platforms. See also de Lackner DH-4 Aerocycle; Hiller Flying Platform; Pogo flying platforms; Williams Aerial
Systems Platform (WASP) blade-driven, 6, 15–16
ducted-fan, 10–15
origin of, 3
seated versus standing pilots on, 25
two-man, 65–68
viability of, 175
Fort Eustis, Virginia, 15, 47, 179
French Museum of Air and Space, 179
Friedrich, Christof. See Zündel, Ernst
fuels. See air, compressed; gasoline; hydrogen peroxide; isopropyl nitrate; jet fuel; nitrogen
Garrett AiResearch, 96–98
gas generator assembly, 33, 35, 138
gasoline, 162
German Secret Weapons and Wonder Weapons of World War Two (Zündel), 182
Gibson, Kinnie, 119–122, 130-134, 141, 149–150
Gijsberts, Peter, 135–136, 145, 146, 147, 148
Gilligan’s Island (tv show), 72, 215n3
Go Fast Jet Pack, 140–141, 146, 149, 155
Go Fast Sports, 140
Graham, Harold “Hal” M., 36, 42-51, 56–57, 130, 145, 149, 164–165
Grand Canyon, 171–172
Guardian, 158
gyrobars, 14
Heine, Vic, 34
Helicopter Flying Apparatus patent, 6
Hiller, Stanley, Jr., 8, 9, 10–15, 26, 179
Hiller 1031-A-1, 179
Hiller Aviation Museum, 158, 180
Hiller Flying Platform, 10–15, 39, 156, 161, 179
Hiller Industries, 8
Himmel Sturmer, 181–184
History Channel, 147
Hitler at the South Pole (Zündel), 182
The Hitler We Loved and Why (Zündel), 182, 183
hoaxes, 181–188
Houghtaling, Bill, 151–152
Houston Rockets, 126–127
hovering devices, 1, 2, 9, 11, 14. See also Flying Shoes
“Hush-hush flying belt,” 23, 24
hydrogen peroxide
accidents involving, 141
additives in, 139–140
Bell Aerosystems’s documentation on, 140
dangers of, 37–38
expansion rate of, 61
limitations of, 47
scarcity of, 120, 139, 152, 153-154
terrorists’ use of, 141–143
as a viable fuel source, 25–26
“I Fly the Man Rockets,” 59–60
individual lift devices. See also flying platforms; jet belts; rocket belts
blade-driven, 9
civilian development of, 133–134
compressed water, 166–167
ducted-fan, 156–163
FAA classification of, 163
hoaxes about, 181–188
two-man, 95–96
Interplanetary Flight and Communication (Rynin), 18–19
jet belts, 2, 3, 75–92, 117–120, 154–155, 180
jet fuel, 150
Jet Pack International, 140, 150, 155
jet packs
coining of term, 55
early models of, 1–3
Nazi, 181–182
Jetlev, 166–168
Jetman. See Rossy, Yves “Jetman”
Jetpack. See Martin Jetpack
Jetpack Dreams (Montandon), 148
Johnston, Phil, 12
jump belts, 20–23, 24, 27–29, 36–37
jumpBelt, 28–29
Kedzierski, Peter, 52–53, 58–59, 69, 71, 145
Kelly, F. Tyler, 44
Kennedy, John F., 49
Kevlar material, 102, 138, 171
kinesthetic control, 3, 6, 12, 15, 38, 169–170
Kutsche, Bob, 121
The Late Show with David Letterman, 172
LEAP (Lunar Escape Astronaut Pogo), 66
LeGrande, Ray, Sr., 109–113, 114
Letterman, David, 172
Li, Raymond, 166–168
lift degradation, 12–13, 46, 176
Los Angeles Olympics, 119, 131, 132, 147
Lost in Space (tv show), 72
Lozano, Isabel, 144
Lozano, Juan Manuel, 143–144, 152
Lunar Escape Astronaut Pogo (LEAP), 66
MacComber, Nick, 155
MAD (magazine), 48–49
man rockets, 18–21, 24–25, 60–61, 188
Man Transport Device, 92
Marin, Marcel, 18
Martin, Cecil, 186
Martin, Glenn, 160–163
Martin Jetpack, 160–163
Martowlis, Gerard, 134–137
May, Robert, 82
McCarty, Lewis, Jr., 15
Michaelson, Ky, 132–133, 138, 140, 148
Miele, Frank, 183
Millennium Jet, 156–158. See also Trek Aerospace
Moore, Wendell F. See also Bell Aerosystems
begins small rocket lift device program at Bell, 29
death of, 89–90
development of Bell Rocket Belt by, 30–41
development of jet belt by, 75–79
flying platform design by, 65
patents by, 53, 67, 76, 80, 134
refinements and patents for Bell Rocket Belt by, 51–55
testing of Bell Rocket Belt and, 42–48
Munteanu, Ion, 187
Museum of Flight (Seattle, Washington), 180
“My Rocketbelt Daze” (song), 145
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, 5, 9
National Geographic, 85, 87, 170–171
National Museum of the Air Force, 180
National Water Lift Company, 34–35, 117, 121, 133, 134
New York Times Magazine, 116
New York Times (newspaper), 47, 82, 102
Niagara Aerospace Museum, 145, 179
Niagara Falls Airport, 43–44, 87
Niagara Frontier Golf Course, 44
nitrogen
use of, in rocket belts, 33–37, 52, 61–62
NT-1 rocket belts, 117
Office of Naval Research-Naval Sciences Division, 10, 13
Olympics (1984). See Los Angeles Olympics
O’Neil, Kitty, 133
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 161
overpromises, 3, 12, 16, 19–22, 152, 161
parachutes, 22, 91, 102–103, 161, 170–173, 175–176
paragliders, 52
Parker Hannifin, 134
patents
Airborne Vehicle, 105
claims of Romanian, by Capra, 183–188
individual flight device, 53
man rocket, 18
Man Transport Device, 92
Personnel Flying Device, 67
Pogo flying platform, 86
Propulsion Device, 160
Russian, 18–19
Single Passenger Aircraft, 158
Platform, 14–15
Paul, Frank R., 1
PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), 147
Peroxide Propulsion, 136, 139, 146, 153
pickling process, 38
piston engines, 175
pitch and roll controls, 38, 100, 162
platforms, flying. See flying platforms
Pogo flying platforms, 65–68, 85, 86
Popular Mechanics, 59–60, 152, 154
Popular Science, 21–24, 29, 50–51, 55, 62, 75, 87, 96, 104, 161, 177
Powell, Jim, 32
power, loss of, 12–13, 46, 176
Powerhouse Productions, 130-134, 141, 150
Preliminary Airworthiness Evaluation, 106, 107, 111
“Pretty Bird.” See RB-2000 “Pretty Bird” rocket belt
propellers, 6, 9, 12–14, 156, 175
Propulsion Device, 160
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 147
pulse-jet engines, 181
RB-2000 “Pretty Bird” rocket belt, 122–129, 179–180
reaction controls, 30–31
Roach, Bob, 32, 37, 42, 44, 47, 60, 90, 146
Rocket Belt Convention (2006), 145–147, 164
Rocket Belt Convention (2007), 148–149, 164
rocket belts. See also Bell Rocket Belts; jet belts
Bell Aerosystems’s proposal for, 29
civilian development of, 117-121, 130–144, 176
early developments of, 2, 3, 17–18, 28
improvements to, 45–46
military interest in, 24–25
nitrogen-powered tethered, 30–32
present locations of, 179–180
solid-fuel, 27
television shows that used, 118
Thunderbolt Aerosystems, Inc., 150–151
untethered test flight, 43–44
rocket technology, hazards of, 20
Rocketbelt (trade name), 131–134, 149
The Rocketbelt Caper, 181
Rocketman (trade name), 131-133, 149, 150
Rocketwoman, 144
Romanian Academy, 185
Romanian National Technical Museum, 187
Rossy, Yves “Jetman,” 4, 139, 169-173, 175
Rynin, Nikolai Alekseevich, 18–19, 20
Sacramento Bee, 70–71
Satin, Alexander, 10
Saturday Review, 47–48
Schlund, Dan, 130–131, 167–168
Science and Mechanics, 58
Scott, Eric, 130, 137, 141, 146, 149–150
Self-Maneuvering Unit (SMU), 55, 67
Skylark of Space, 1–2
Slate magazine, 147
small rocket lift devices (SRLDs), 24–26, 28–29, 31, 33, 46, 51, 58, 70
Small Tactical Aerial Mobility Platform (STAMP) program, 94–98
Small Tactical Aerial Reconnaissance System-Visual (STARS-V), 94
Smith, Larry, 147–148
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 179
solid-fuel rockets, 22
spacewalk devices, 67
Spencer, John, 84, 91, 146, 154
Springtail Exoskeletal Flying Vehicles, 159
stability and stabilization systems, 5, 14, 33–34, 81, 103, 157–158, 168
STAMP (Small Tactical Aerial Mobility Platform) program, 94–98
Stern, Herman, 16
Suitor, William (Bill) P.
biography of, 69–74
book written by, 151
on expansion of hydrogen peroxide, 61
leaves Bell Aerospace, 91
at Los Angeles Olympics, 119, 132
on missing test flight of jet belt, 89
Nelson Tyler and, 117–119
on noise level of rocket belts, 35
at rock belt conventions, 145, 147
test flights of Pretty Bird by, 123–126
Thunderbolt Aerosystems, Inc. and, 139
Tank and Automotive Research and Development Command (TARADCOM), 100
Tecnologia Aerospacial Mexicana, 143
Thiokol Chemical Corporation, 20–24, 27–29, 48, 54, 62, 75–76
Thompson Ramo Woolridge (TRW), 186
throttle valves, 33–34, 45, 99–100, 121, 124, 133–134, 138
Thunderball (movie), 71–72, 120, 151, 166
Thunderbolt Aerosystems, Inc., 138–139, 150–152, 154–155
ThunderJets, 150–151
ThunderPack rocket belts, 139
Time (magazine), 163
To Tell the Truth (tv show), 47
Transportation Research and Engineering Command (TRECOM), 17, 23, 24, 26–27
Trek Aerospace, 158–159. See also Millennium Jet
TRW (Thompson Ramo Woolridge), 186
TSA (US Transportation Security Administration), 143
turbine engines, 75–76, 80–81, 90, 150, 169, 174
Turbo Fan Lift Device, 186
Tyler, Nelson, 117–120
U. A. V. Engines, Ltd., 157
UFOs—Nazi Secret Weapons (Zündel), 183–184
Underwood, Donald L., 106–109
University of Buffalo, 179
US Army
flying platforms and, 13–16, 104, 106–109, 112–115
jet belts and, 78–81
small rocket lift devices and, 28–33, 37
US Army Aviation Human Research Unit, 46
US Army Transportation Museum, 179
US Marine Corps, 94–95
US Patent and Trademark Office, 92, 131, 133, 160
US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), 143
V-1 Buzz bomb, 181
Verne, Jules, 1
vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicles, 2, 27, 63, 64, 162
Vertical Take-Off Flying Platform, 14–15
Von Braun, Werner, 19
Voss, Mark, 105–107
VTOL. See vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicles
Vuono, Carl, 104
VZ-1 Flying Platform, 11–13
VZ-1E Flying Platform, 13–14
Walker, Texas Ranger (tv show), 141
Walker, Tommy, 119
WASP. See Williams Aerial Systems Platform (WASP)
water, compressed, 166
Widgery, Troy, 140–141, 146, 150, 152, 154
Williams, Sam B., 76, 80, 83, 90, 93–94, 98, 105, 106, 113
Williams Aerial Systems Platform (WASP), 93–96, 99–116, 180
Williams International, 105, 116, 180. See also Williams Aerial Systems Platform (WASP)
Williams Research, 76, 78, 80, 90, 91, 105
Wooldridge, John T., 127
WR2-2 engines, 80–81
WR19-9 engines, 95
Wright, Joe, 122, 123, 125–127
Wright, Nancy, 146
X-22 aircraft, 84
XFV (Exoskeletal Flying Vehicle), 157, 159
Yahoo!, 136
yaw controls, 38, 43, 83, 157, 162, 167, 180
Zero-G belt, 67
Zimmerman, Charles Horton, 5–9, 10, 16, 179
Zündel, Ernst, 182–184