Up, Up and Away…

The joy of flying free is a dream that every single human cherishes from
ages. A dream that started from the days of god and still continues to
flourish. Rushing through the wind, not encapsulated in a steel body,
but as free bird ready to jump out of cage.

This science fiction started gaining firm grounds by mid 1920’s in

children minds with the introduction of superhero’s who used
mechanical aids to fly, like batman(yes, off course occasionally!). This
paved the way for imagination to become reality and the mechanical
contraptions were given the name of JetPacks.

A jetpack is machinery which a human does not go in but wears it to fly.

A JetPack is stripped to a person’s back and using the thruster which
split out gases is used to lift human and deify the laws of gravity.

As with any pre-war gizmo, the jetpack started being seriously looked
into when the biggest conflict mankind ever knew erupted. The 2 nd
World War was the perfect medium for the jetpack to develop.

THE HIMMELSTURMER

In the final years of world war, the Nazis started losing ground and
plenty of man, and for this same reason the German scientist were
forced to develop new technologies to help them in war. Most of those
technologies were considered insane at that time, proved to be
technological breakthrough after war, one of them being the Argus As
014 jet engine. A downsized version of this V Bomb engine was being
considered to be strapped to the backs of soldier and give them the
ability wearer to jump (very high and for long distances) rather than fly
with the use of low powered thrust engine.

The idea was to send soldiers, mostly from the engineering corps, over
enemy lines without using the big, noisy, easy to hit transport airplanes.
By being hard to spot, because of its size, and highly maneuverable, the
Himmelsturmer (Skystormer) would have been the perfect tool for
precision hits, sabotage missions and commando actions.
The Himmelsturmer was never used though as the war ended even
before it could be deployed and the technology was sent behind the
lines for further studies. It ended up in Bell Aerosystems and was never
heard of again.
THE JUMPBELT AND THE ROCKET BELT

The first jetpack to become reality was the so called Jumpbelt created
by the same Bell. Its incability to achieve long flights failed to impress
the army.
A new version of Jumpbelt was developed Bell developed: the Rocket
Belt, a bettered version which was capable of higher, longer flights.
Whereas the most of the problems have been pretty much solved,
another one appeared. The Rocket Belt was too heavy, which meant
that the guy wearing it had little chance of staying in the air for very
long.
While the army waved off Rocket Belt, HOLLYWOOD embraced it. The
script writers found a way to get public intrest by interest by using
JetPacks in the movies.

JET BELT
Bell again came up with a new model called the Jet Belt. The maiden
flight of the Jet Belt took place on April 7, 1969, achieving all the
objectives set. Flown by test pilot Robert Courter, the Jet Belt flew at 7
meters (23 feet) and proved it can reach speeds of 135 km/h (83 mph)
and fly for as long as 25 minutes. But because of investment problems
Bell sold all patents to the technology in the 1970s to Williams Research
Corporation. The company currently manufactures jet engines for
airplanes, but no jetpacks.

THE MARTIN JETPACK

The Martin Aircraft Company is getting close to becoming the first to

commercially distribute a jetpack. With a maximum thrust of 600 lbs
and a range of 31.5 miles (50 km) at a maximum speed of 63 mph (101
km/h) and an altitude of 2,400 metres (7,840 feet), the Martin jetpack
is as simple as they get. Anyone can fly it, after going through a short
training session.

The Important thing here is that the jetpack is proving its worth.
Currently, Martin has received 500 orders from emergency services and
unnamed defence companies. The adoption of the technology by
government agencies will boost the jetpack into the consumers' eyes.
From all the jetpacks developed so far, Martin's has the biggest chance
of becoming a market hit…the first market hit.

The key to man’s success is to keep on taking his chances.