Highest Human Elevation Using a Rocketbelt

Chris Gondek writes "Rocketman Eric Scott shot 46 metres into the air in London and promptly claimed a world record. Scott, 41, from Dallas, Texas, donned his red and white jumpsuit and zoomed into the north London sky in his bid to achieve the highest human elevation using a Rocketbelt. His feat, which saw him reach the equivalent height of a 12-storey building, lasted just 26 seconds but allowed enough time for a couple of pirouettes. The Rocketbelt was devised by the United States military in 1961 but has since been used for performances and displays around the world, including the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles."

Unlikely!

[thebra]

Since then he has become a veteran of almost 500 flights and claims to be the world's only Rocketman.
Obviously he hasn't seen Rocketeer.

Re:Unlikely!

[nomadic]

Since then he has become a veteran of almost 500 flights and claims to be the world's only Rocketman. Obviously he hasn't seen Rocketeer.

Or Elton John.

Re:Unlikely!

[Hiro Antagonist]

On the other hand, if this guy didn't have a parachute at twelve stories, he did a good impression of Michael Jackson's career.

Re:Unlikely!

[FinestLittleSpace]

OR William Shatner

Re:Unlikely!

[Dejitaru Neko]

Or Stewie Griffin.

Re:Unlikely!

[Lev13than]

Just remember that the knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.

Re:Unlikely!

[ksp]

Just remember that the knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.

Isn't that how satelites work?

Re:Unlikely!

[dillon_rinker]

Heh. Plus one informative.

Re:Unlikely!

[why-is-it]

Obviously he hasn't seen Rocketeer.

Did anyone?

Re:Unlikely!

[G-funk]

It begins!...

Tra la la lump a doo!

Why not do this...

[Anonymous Coward]

...from the top of Everest?

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

"Down" button?

[AtariAmarok]

"Down button? What do you mean there is NO down button?"

"Cool your jets, Jetson (hehe). You'll come down when it runs out of fuel. That will happen soon enough, you'd better believe it."

Come on

[TexasDex]

Is there anybody who wouldn't love to have one of these for getting to work?

Of course they're probably even less fuel-efficient than cars. I'll bet the environmentalists won't be happy.

Re:Come on

[Frequanaut]

re: environmentalists, read the website.

Re:Come on

[agilen]

I remember when I was in middle school or around there, the guy who was flying these at the time gave us a talk about them (not the same guy they talk about in that article). It was some rediculous 6 or 7 figure cost of fuel for the ~30 second flights they can take with those...while cool, probably the biggest waste of money I can imagine.

Re:Come on

[wkitchen]

Ugh. Was it really necessary to use the word "juicy"?

next record...

[ZipR]

Stacking rocket men. 64 men, one atop the other, reaching to the heavens!

64 rocket men

[AtariAmarok]

"Stacking rocket men. 64 men, one atop the other, reaching to the heavens!"

64 rocket men on the pad, 64 rocket men. Launch one up, notify next-of-kin, 63 rocket men on the pad.

63 rocket men on the pad, 63 rocket men.....

Another Darwin Award Nominee

[dpeltzm1]

First off i work towers tall buildings so i know a little about danger This "rocketeer" has 3 kids and does this stuff with no safety equipment! anybody know the name of his insurance agent i want in on that policy. Hello Vegas here we come!!!

Maybe you're the real nominee?

[Anonymous Coward]

How can he be a nominee if he has 3 kids?

Re:Maybe you're the real nominee?

[Finuvir]

The best nominee risks himself, his offspring and as many of his close family members (up to third cousins) and still-fertile ancestors as possible. Remove all traces of his genes. A rocket explosion should do the trick.

rocketing downwards

[Silas is back]

"owwwahh, look at this blonde down there. Gotta go a bit closeeeeeeeeeeee" rrroooooaaaaarrrrrr flatsch.

But where...

[Suit_N_Tie]

are the flying cars?

A word from Ted Kennedy

[AtariAmarok]

"Oh. You said flying cahs! I thought you said.... oh neva mind."

Re:A word from Ted Kennedy

[kelzer]

Boy, the Chappaquiddick jokes just never get old, even after 35 years.

Quake Rocket Jump

[davejenkins]

Well, it seems safer than the rocket jump we've all pulled a thousand times in order to get up to those sweet camping spots...

Re:Quake Rocket Jump

[No Such Agency]

... not to mention infinitely safer than the "Quad-rocket-grenade-BFG jump" that I enjoyed a few times. Sadly, neither the Quad nor the Invulnerability required to pull THAT off exist in real life.

Re:Quake Rocket Jump

[Ark42]

It seems you are claiming the BFG really does exist?

Re:Quake Rocket Jump

[HisMother]

Umm, not quite, actually; you fire the rocket just as you're leaving the ground.

Re:Quake Rocket Jump

[Bastian]

This is the case in Quake, but in TFC I remember getting much better results firing the rocket at the peak of my jump.

Re:Quake Rocket Jump

[satanami69]

With TFC, using the demo man, you could lay the pipebombs and time the jump to take less damage.

Another plus was to put a pipebomb where you were jumping to, as to clear away enemies.

Good times.

Re:Quake Rocket Jump

[RichardX]

You can get even higher by getting a quad damage, firing a grenade, switching to rockets, standing over the granade, aiming down, jumping right as the grenade goes off and firing your rocket at the same time. Off into orbit you go (or your gibs, if you neglected to pick up invincibliity, too)

In a completely related story...

[digitalamish]

The last surviving twin brother that founded the Guinness Book of World Records has died. [bbc.co.uk] He had held the record for longest surviving twin who founded the greatest book series ever.

---
"There's no I in Team." - Reporter
"Yeah, there ain't no we either." - Leon

Re:In a completely related story...

[leenoble_uk]

What do you mean by modding this as funny. It's insightful.
The Guinness book of Records is filled to bursting with pathetic 'qualified' records.
So if you're never going to get the world record for the 100 metres maybe you can get in as the world's fastest at the hundred metres while holding a cup in your left hand.
If you weren't the first person in the world to sail single handedly around the world then claim to be the first person to sail singlehandly around the world after setting out on a Tuesday.
And most pathetic of all. Weren't the first person to climb Mount Everest? How about the first American? Ok the first Woman? Or the first American Woman, no the first British Woman, oh has that already gone. The first British Woman to climb Mount Everest starting out on a Tuesay whilst holding a cup in your left hand then.

Re:In a completely related story...

[squaretorus]

How about - The fastest Londoner to eat 200 jacobs cream crackers... without a glass of water... with a toothpick... naked.

I think that one IS in the 2003 book, page 734 if Im not mistaken!

That's not a rocket

[Anonymous Coward]

He was happy to see me.

man

[bpland]

That looks like a rocking good time.

Coincidence

[WwWonka]

...lasted just 26 seconds but allowed enough time for a couple of pirouettes.

Interesting, I too accomplished this feat with my imaginary girlfriend over the weekend.

He would have been able to go higher but. . .

[BadluckShleprock]

The rocket pack holds enough fuel for about 1 minute (or less) of flight. He had to keep enough fuel to land with. THAT's why we see this military technology at air shows and not being shot at over Baghdad.

Re:He would have been able to go higher but. . .

[micromoog]

Why doesn't he do it with a parachute? That way he could (theoretically) burn straight up for the full minute, going WAY higher, then parachute back down . . .

Re:He would have been able to go higher but. . .

[Coos]

Not much higher: the climb rate of these belts is very low. I doubt he'd get enough altitude to deploy a chute from...

Re:He would have been able to go higher but. . .

[SpinyNorman]

Actually you can use a parachute from as low as around 300' (I believe this is the military limit), and BASE (Buildings, Antenna, Structures, Earth) jumpers routinely parachute of bridges etc which are pretty low.

Re:He would have been able to go higher but. . .

[negacao]

He'd have to be higher for a parachute to help..

Re:He would have been able to go higher but. . .

[Coos]

Actually, he ascended beside a tower, and landed on its roof, so presumably he didnt even have enough fuel to land again safely at the same level he took off from. He walked back down the staircase of the tower...

Worms Reference

[RamboCalrissian]

Wow, I thought that the rocketbelt only had 15 seconds of fuel.... and to think about it, he probably could have gotten where he wanted to go a lot faster with the ninja rope.

Parachutes and Rockets

[gr8_phk]

I'm still waiting for the base jumpers and the high power rocket builders to get together. Build a rocket to lift someone with the ability to eject cleanly and still recover the rocket too...

Try http://www.local6.com/news/3022956/detail.html

[dpbsmith]

http://www.local6.com/news/3022956/detail.html [local6.com] isn't slashdotted... yet...

Also seen in Thunderball

[gevmage]

Also seen in a James Bond film, I forget which one. Googling "James Bond rocket pack" seems to indicate Thunderball.

Re:Also seen in Thunderball

[perly-king-69]

That's the one. Sean Connery escapes from a hospital complex before stowing the rocket pack in the back of the Aston. Connery wanted to do the stunt himself, but the producers said it was too risky, so it was left to (I think) an RAF test pilot.

Re:Also seen in Thunderball

[goon america]

Funny story about that... when they shot the long shots in that scene with stuntmen (yes, it was the real thing, no wires or anything) they had helmets on, but on the closeups of Connery ( not real) he didn't. They wanted to re-shoot the long shots without helmets, but they couldn't find a stuntman for any amount of money anywhere that was willing to fly that thing without a helmet. ... they ended up having to call Connery back and reshoot his closeup with a helmet on, at great expense...

(Nowadays they wo

Re:Also seen in Thunderball

[Afrosheen]

I'd be easier to just paint the helmet to look like Connery's hair and face. Depending on the shots it might work, but for closeups, you gotta use good old fashioned matte work.

Re:Also seen in Thunderball

[JofCoRe]

More information about the Thunderball appearance can be found here: www.rocketbelt.nl [rocketbelt.nl]... click on the Thunderball link on the left.

Re:Also seen in Thunderball

[tangent3]

Yup that's the one Bill Suitor [imdb.com] was the stuntmen.

Too Bad 20 sec limit

[4of12]

These would be great for getting around if it weren't for the 20 second time limitation.

So if I have to compromise and give up on a having a rocket pack or flying car, can I get a MagLev skateboard instead?

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!

[StefanJ]

Like the fabled, ever-promised Air Car, this would be great for getting around if you were the only person who had one.

Stir in crowds and typical human behavior, and things turn rapidly nasty.

Think about it. Say 10% of Long Island's tens of thousands of car-commuters buy air cars or rocket packs. Can you imagine the traffic control problems? No traffic signs, no colored lines, no stop signals. Unless you have automated governors that restrict you to certain flight paths, the skies at rush hour would look

Hi. I'm Troy McClure

[Anonymous Coward]

Hi. I'm Troy McClure. You might remember me from such rocketman documentaries as "Rocketeer 2: Electric Boogaloo" and "Splattered All Over Nebraska".

H2O2+methanol

[wowbagger]

The current rocket pack uses (IIRC) 99% hydrogen peroxide as a monopropellent fuel - the peroxide is broken down by a silver catalyst into water vapor, oxygen and LOTS of heat. This is a big part of why this rocketpack only works for tens of seconds at a time.

I wonder if anybody has looked into using the 50% peroxide/50% methanol mix that John Carmack is using in his rocket - could this increase the flight time?

Re:H2O2+methanol

[ScottGant]

Is this like the hydrogen peroxide you put on cold-sores and boo-boos...stored in your medicine cabinet?

So just pouring this over a silver screen or something similar and you've got rocket power?

Sounds kinda easy.

Re:H2O2+methanol

[wowbagger]

The peroxide you buy at the drugstore is 3% peroxide - if you pour that over silver you will get pretty much the same thing as you get by pouring it over a wound - some warm foam.

I suppose you could make a "rocket" by putting peroxide in a 2 liter bottle, thowing some silver (or bleach) in, and corking it.

But you would get the same result from baking soda and vinegar.

Re:H2O2+methanol

[tb3]

Not quite. The medicinal stuff is very weak, 1% I think. The rocket fuel is 75 - 100%, very volatile and very corrosive. Also hard to manufacture at that strength.

Re:H2O2+methanol

[Pooua]

IIRC, pure hydrogen peroxide is "impossible." The strongest concentration generally offered is 70% (which is considered high-concentration), though there is also a specialty grade for the semiconductor industry that is even more concentrated.

Wikipedia has an interesting article on hydrogen peroxide [wikipedia.org].

That's just a minor improvement

[Spamalamadingdong]

There is a claim of only 140-150 sec of impulse for pure H2O2 here [armadilloaerospace.com], so it shouldn't be hard to get 50% greater impulse by adding a fuel to consume the oxygen and increase the exhaust velocity. All things being equal, the flight time of a rocket belt is equivalent to the length of time it can hold its weight up against gravity (assuming you land at zero speed and have negligible drag effects) and is thus proportional to the specific impulse of the propellant.

Adding fuel also increases the exhaust temperature, and if you're already in danger of cooking your legs with superheated steam this could be a problem. The system might require modifications to keep the pilot cool.

Propellants containing N2O4 or N2H4 are right out; you'd presumably like to survive an impact which bends the plumbing, assuming that you live long enough to get the thing fuelled up and launched in the first place. Both substances are extremely poisonous.

To really get long flight times you have to increase the performance well above what rocket propulsion can give you. You can go from rocket to venturi-assisted rocket, to rocket-driven turbofan, to straight turbofan, to helicopter. Each one represents an increase in lift*time per unit fuel, by moving more mass (in this case, air) at a lower velocity and thus decreasing the energy (proportional to v^2) per unit momentum (proportional to v). However, by the time you do this you're not really a "rocket man" any more, you're something else.

Re:NO4 and monomethyl hydrazine

[Elwood P Dowd]

I don't think you want to put people near that exhaust...

I thought they were made by ACME

[scottennis]

Because Wile E. Coyote has gone way higher than this guy did. Unfortunately he bashed his head through an overhanging ledge, which then broke off and fell on him when he plummeted to the canyon floor below.

Re:I thought they were made by ACME

[corbettw]

Didn't you read the submission blurb?

"Rocketman Eric Scott shot 46 metres into the air in London and promptly claimed a world record. Scott, 41, from Dallas, Texas, donned his red and white jumpsuit and zoomed into the north London sky in his bid to achieve the highest human elevation using a Rocketbelt." (emphasis added)

So Wile E.'s record still stands as the highest non-human elevation.

What is up with London?

[Astroboy!]

Why does London seem to be the new haven for American crazies doing weird things?

David Blaine sits in a box by the Thames.
Rocketman out in north Londdon.

What's next?

Is there some kind of American law about being weird that Britain doesn't have?

Re:What is up with London?

[shadowcabbit]

No, it's just that in London, an American acting totally insane won't get noticed, since we all act that way anyway.

(I kid, of course. There are some pretty weird Brits out there, too.)

By bye Branson

[AtariAmarok]

...an American acting totally insane won't get noticed, since we all act that way anyway. (I kid, of course. There are some pretty weird Brits out there, too.)

How long before Richard Branson gets the idea to try and try again to go 'round the world in a rocket belt?

Re:What is up with London?

[cosmo7]

In England you can only be eccentric if you are middle or upper class. If you're working class then you're insane.

Re:middle class = working class

[cosmo7]

Most upper-class and middle-class people are also working-class (because they work). There is not the exclusionary relationship that you imply. Perhaps you meant to say "lower-class". The lower-class, oddly enough, is the least working-class (as most of the unemployed, non-workers are in this group).

Your semantics are wrong. "Working class" may be a euphemism to avoid the condescension of "Lower class", but it is the class which is concerned with working, not it's members. Like a walking stick doesn't act

Re:What is up with London?

[corbettw]

No, it's just that in London, an American acting totally insane won't get noticed

Something tells me that, with people scaling the sheer cliffs of the local sidewalk, the Ministry of Silly Walks, Gumbies shouting, and other oddities, nothing anyone does in Britain would be viewed as "insane".

Re:What is up with London?

[wowbagger]

...people scaling the sheer cliffs of the local sidewalk...

Here in Kansas we have that beat [dimensional.com].

Re:What is up with London?

[tehcyder]

I expect the insurance is cheaper here in the UK, plus you're less likely to get sued if you accidentally squash or incinerate a bystander.

Re:What is up with London?

[91degrees]

It's all down to the recent pro-rocketpack legislation.

You see, thanks to Red Ken's conjestion charge, a whole industry has been created to find a way around it. One of the many classes of exempt vehicles is the rocket pack (because it causes no conjestion, and a lot of the waste is water). It's now a common sight to see businessmen commuting to work with a rocket pack, umberella, and reinforced crash-bowler. Anyway, because of the popularity of these, the government has made sure the requirements for

Re:What is up with London?

[spungo]

It's 'cos the haggis are in season. (In high summer they're hard to spot against the heather, what with their natural camouflage).

James Bond's Gadgets

[WebGangsta]

For some reason, TiVo thinks that I have a James Bond obsession. I don't deny this -- especially when TiVo finds programs like JAMES BOND'S GADGETS on The History Channel.

While there are one or two other Bond-related shows on A&E / Discovery / History / etc, I believe it was this particular show that spent time with the guy who now owns the speedboat from one of Brosnan's outings [bondpix.com], a history of the Rocketman pack and how it works (and what they're doing now), and one or two other "real world" items us

Coming up next

[Wolfier]

Largest area covered by bloody splat ever achieved by a falling human being

Sordid history of rocket belts

[figa]

Is this the infamous missing rocket belt? [go.com]

Re:Sordid history of rocket belts

[Elwood P Dowd]

Yes. If you compare the info in your linked article with the article in the story, it is clear that they both describe the RB2000.

Your story says all the intrigue happened in 1995, and it remained unsolved. Too bad your story doesn't have a date on it. I'm curious-like.

guzzle, HICK, Zooommm!

[malia8888]

Looking at the caption of the photo in the article:A handout photograph shows stuntman Eric Scott of the US hovering in the sky over London using a jetpack

Did anyone else notice that he is sponsored by Smirnoff Vodka? This is not a coincidence:P

An interesting

[sucati]

article [go.com] about one rocket belt company.

Highest Human Flight

[PetoskeyGuy]

but my squirrel rocket belt still holds the real record. The trick is finding a good squirrel. Most can't steer for shit.

Not a difficult 'Record' to beat!

[d60b9y]

From the article:
There were no records before. I am the first one in the books for the record so it is neat.

Basically, the story is "Man uses Rocketbelt and happens to measure how high he went."

Hardly Rocket Science.... (BaDum Tish!)

Sadly...

[NanoGator]

.. he was scorned as a "Camping Faggot" when he went up with a railgun.

Pilotwings SNES game

[The I Shing]

Back when I had a SNES I had a game called Pilotwings that had a segment with a rocketbelt in it. The trick was to fly around and touch a lot of floating colored balls and fly through moving hoops without falling into the water or touching the ground.

It would have to be a pretty sophisticated belt in that game, though, as its fuel reserves kept the wearer aloft for a couple of minutes.

Not just the Olympics...

[TopShelf]

The first Super Bowl had this [superbowl.com] too. I'll bet those guys were happy not to have a "wardrobe malfunction"!

Terrifying

[(eternal_software)]

When your helicopter engine quits, you autorotate to a landing. When your plane engine quits, you glide.

With this, you have absolutely no chance of survival during a large portion of the flight if the thing quits on you.

I'd imagine it's too low to use a parachute, but high enough to kill you.

Re:Terrifying

[No Such Agency]

Well, you could have a rocket-deployed parachute like those ejection seats that are safe to use even at ground level. Of course, parachute = weight = even less flying time.

Video here

[jago25_98]

Let's track some video footage down eh?

http://www.rocketmaninc.com/videogallery.html

slashdot 'em for disabling rightclick to save!

http://www.rocketbelt.nl/

a two-stage award!

[argStyopa]

One would think that "Highest Human Elevation Using a Rocketbelt" would be something one gets just before the Darwin Award.

Re:a two-stage award!

[Animats]

Yeah. Because the limitation on elevation is how high you can get before you don't have enough fuel to get down.

confused

[Undefined Parameter]

Would someone mind telling me how this guy avoids burning his legs off? It seems to me that a rocket powerful enough to lift all that weight would have to be pretty hot, and being that close to the human body....

~UP

video

[edyavno]

"Reuters Television" has the video of the flight and preparations [feedroom.com].

Re:got him beat

[HeghmoH]

How lame. Even assuming an average of two meters per person, stacking 747 people is not even 1,500 meters. I've been way higher than that in an airplane.

Re:Military Technology

[meringuoid]

The Rocketbelt was devised by the United States military in 1961 but has since been used for performances and displays around the world, including the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Sounds like another good use of military technology to me!

Compared to the uses to which military technology is more normally put, I'd say this is a really, really great use. Only one person is likely to get killed by this.

Re:Military Technology

[spectrokid]

When used in an packed olympic stadium, he could fall on top of somebody else. Geesh, imagine him falling into the flamy thingie..

Re:Military Technology

[fuzzybunny]

imagine him falling into the flamy thingie

Hm I just did and I think it'd be pretty damn funny. "He went out with a bang!"

"It's raining men", indeed.

Man from Glad

[Latent Heat]

The range and endurance of the Rocketbelt are pretty pathetic, and the only good use I have seen this thing put to is landing on the lawn outside the kitchen of some young woman and instructing her on the use of polyethelyne film to wrap food leftovers.

Re:5 posts

[goatan]

Scott, who says his sons think he is Superman, works as a film stuntman and also builds custom homes.

Yes custom houses with 3 floors but no stairs you have to rockpack your way up.