Hello 21st Century, Now Where Is My Jetpack?
By bohus
Is there any more consistent image of science fiction than a flying man, propelled by a rocket jetpack? As early as 1920's Buck Rogers comics, there have been many fictional takes on some sort of jet suit - and surprisingly several real ones. Early German experiments started toward the end of WWII, but it wasn't until the late 50's that the idea became somewhat feasible.
As you'd imagine, many of these early experiments had military objectives. The concept was less about flight, and more about propulsion-assisted leaping in a single bound over minefields or unbridged rivers. Jetpacks are difficult to control. Since most of us are not equipped with naturally sprouting ailerons or other First
Class amenities of flight, 
without motive force we tend to not so much
fly as plummet. Jetpacks operate below minimum parachute height, so safety and control are major concerns. The other major problem is fuel. These devices
consume tremendous fuel, limiting flights to about a minute.
This has relegated jet packs mostly to entertainment. As a kid I remember seeing a jetpack in use in the James Bond "Thunderball" movie, TV's "Lost in Space", even an oddball Saturday morning sci-fi show called "Ark II". 
I was old enough to mistakenly think that these devices were being simulated through the movie magic of special effects - who would image that what I was looking at were filmed flights of real jetpacks!
I'm no daredevil, but I'd love to take flight using a jetpack (one hidden under my clothes for quick escapes, of course). I'd just want them to be safer for an amateur control, and stay in the air for more than a minute. I've seen plans for jetpacks on the internet, but it's hard to believe that anyone would build and fly such a thing. There's a reason that there are only five known working packs in the world today.
So when will get to see an actual regular everyday kind of Rocket Man? Quoth the Bard Sir Elton John, 
"I think it's gonna be a long, long time...". Okay, 21st Century, get to work.
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