The Great American Jet Pack: The Quest for the Ultimate Individual Lift Device

by Steve Lehto

Tracing the remarkable history of a certain kind of flying machine--from the rocket belt to the jet belt to the flying platform and all the way to Yves Rossy's 21st-century free flights using a jet-powered wing--this historical account delves into the technology that made these devices possible and the reasons why they never became commercial successes on a mass scale. These individual lift devices, as they were blandly labeled by the government men who financed much of their development, answered man's desire to simply step outside and take flight. No runways, no wings, no pilot's license were required. But the history of the jet pack did not follow its expected trajectory and the devices that were thought to become as commonplace as cars have instead become one of the most overpromised technologies of all time. This fascinating account profiles the inventors and pilots, the hucksters and cheats, and the businessmen and soldiers who were involved with the machines, and it tells a great American story of a technology whose promise may yet, one day, come to fruition.

Genres: History, Science, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Conan McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in the subject matter, this is great stuff! You also find out why the sky is not filled with commuters flying to work with rocket belts or jet packs: they are 1) dangerous, 2)LOUD, 3) expensive, and 4) have very short flight times. Maybe someday....

[Wes · Rating 3 out of 5]

The poor man's "The Right Stuff."

I was a child in the sixties, so I was promised by the media and my Childcraft Encyclopedia that I would probably commute to work with a jet pack when I grew up. The dream has never died, however this book helped me understand why it will always be just a dream for me.

The best part of this book was the cast of characters involved in the development and promotion of these individual flying devices. However, while the author has written a nice research paper, he is not a biographer, and I felt like this book could have been so much better. It would have been really strengthened by a ghost writer who could bring these interesting men more to life. That being said, I plowed through this book, and really enjoyed learning the history of my dream ride.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting when dealing with the early history of jet packs but starts to ramble and suffers from poor writing in the latter half of the book.