Off-the-shelf jet packs
Rocket belts have been around since 1953 but you’re still taking the bus?
It could be because rocket
belts aren’t for sale. Or because
prototypes can weigh upwards of
100 lb and only carry enough fuel
to stay aloft for less than minute.
Now, one of these obstacles has
been removed: Rocket belts are
for sale.
Mexican start-up Tecnologia
Aeroespacial Mexicana (TAM)
offers the custombuilt
TAM Rocket
Belt for $250,000,
including flight and maintenance
training. With a full tank of hydrogen
peroxide, the belt weighs
124 to 139 lb (the bigger the pilot,
the bigger the belt) and stays airborne
for 30 sec. TAM’s sole competitor,
Jetpack International,
Colorado, sells what it calls “the
world’s longest-flying jet pack.”
The Jet Pack H202 flies for 33 sec.,
three seconds longer than TAM’s
model. The H202 weighs 139 lb
and is competitively
priced at $155,000 flight
classes and all.
“If something goes
wrong, you can get
killed,” says Jetpack
founder Troy Widgery.
“Thirty-three
seconds of fuel makes
an inexperienced pilot
twitchy.” Widgery
plans to release the
T73 Turbine by the
end of the year. The
$200,000 model will
burn jet fuel and fly
for 19 min.
“With 19 minutes, you can take
things slower, ”
says Widgery. “You
aren’t spending the
whole flight thinking
about where to
land.” Meanwhile,
TAM is working on a
propane-burning jet
belt.
Make Contact:
Jetpack International, jetpackinternational.com
Tecnologia Aeroespacial
Mexicana (TAM),
tecaeromex.com