Tech History: Jet Packs

The first serious attempt at a jetpack was made in 1919 by a Russian inventor named Aleksandr Fyodorovich Andreyev. Andreyev’s device used a series of small rockets mounted on a backpack to provide lift, but it was too cumbersome and dangerous to use effectively.

It wasn’t until the 1950s that jetpacks gained more serious attention. In 1953, the Bell Aircraft Corporation began working on a jetpack called the “Bell Rocket Belt.” This device used hydrogen peroxide as fuel and could lift a person up to 15 feet in the air for about 21 seconds. The Bell Rocket Belt was featured in the 1965 James Bond film “Thunderball.”

Another notable jetpack from the 1960s was the “Bendix Jetpack,” which was developed by Wendell F. Moore, a former Bell Aircraft engineer. The Bendix Jetpack used a pair of rocket engines to provide lift and could reach speeds of up to 77 miles per hour.

In the 1970s, the US military began experimenting with jetpack technology for military applications. The “Small Rocket Lift Device,” or SRLD, was developed by the US Army and used a rocket motor to provide lift. The SRLD was never widely adopted, however, due to its high cost and limited flight time.

In recent years, several companies have continued to work on jetpack technology. One notable example is the “Jetpack Aviation JB-10,” which was unveiled in 2015 and can fly for up to 10 minutes at a time. Another company, JetPack Aviation, has also developed a jetpack called the “JB-11,” which can fly for up to 20 minutes.

While jetpacks are still not commonly used, their development has continued throughout the years, and it’s likely that we’ll continue to see advances in jetpack technology in the coming years. Perhaps one day, we’ll all be zipping around in our own personal jetpacks, just like something out of a science fiction novel.