The Inside Story of When Jet Packs Really Are Coming
News of a cheaper, lighter rocket belt gets the sci-fi geek in all of us excited. But as even the three main players in the human-flight business admit to PM, serious technical issues, delays and lawsuits stand between jet-propelled hype and practical liftoff.

California-based Thunderbolt Aerosystems announced this week that it would sell the sub-$100,000 ThunderPack TP-R2G2 (left) beginning this summer in a race with TAM’s Rocket Belt (middle) and JetPack International Jet Pack H202 (right) for the DIY rocketeer’s wallet. But the end game, engineers say, is long-distance, jet-fueled flight.














