Where's My Jetpack?!

I grew up in the waning years of the space age. Cars no longer had big fins, but the Russians were still the bad guys, and the Jetsons were still on TV.

We all thought the 21st century would land us on moving sidewalks, flying cars, and of course, riding a jetpack. When James Bond donned his jet pack in the 1965 film Thunderball, little boys eyes bulged. The big boys and garage tinkerers got out their wrenches. But, like a generation of would-be flyers before them, their efforts sputtered out.

Last month, Eric Scott jet-packed across a 1,500-foot wide Colorado canyon – he could only stay in the air for about thirty seconds. Why can we send a man to the moon, but only fly with a jetpack for under a minute?

That question frustrates Mac Montandon. At 35, Mac suspected he was having a premature mid-life crisis, couldn’t afford a Porsche, and traveled the world in search of his childhood dream: to fly a jetpack. He tells the story in his new book Jetpack Dreams: One Man’s Up and Down (But Mostly Down) Search for the Greatest Invention That Never Was. Mac joins us with more on the history, and possible future, of the jetpack.

Watch a trailer for Jetpack Dreams from Mac Montandon:

And watch a video of Eric Scott's 9-second flight:

(Photo of Lost in Space, with stars June Lockhart and Guy Williams, a pop culture touchstone for jetpack obsessives the world over.)