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The Real Rocketeer

A Swiss man has successfully flown across the English Channel using a jetpack. This really hits home for us. As kids, we remember acting out many a scene from The Rocketeer by fashioning a DYI flying apparatus: constructed with two two-liter bottles and cardboard wings; held together by duct tape; powered..

Patrick James
By Patrick JamesSep 28, 2008
Patrick James
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A Swiss man has successfully flown across the English Channel using a jetpack.This really hits home for us. As kids, we remember acting out many a scene from The Rocketeer by fashioning a DYI flying apparatus: constructed with two two-liter bottles and cardboard wings; held together by duct tape; powered by imagination. You might also remember that in the film-which featured Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino, and a young Jennifer Connely-the jetpack's design flaw (fuel leakage) was solved by plugging a hole with chewing gum. Brilliant.Anyway, there's a video and complete story of the real thing over at BBC, but it kind of pales in comparison to this:[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJL9aVp_1jE

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