At The Hop

concertinette writes:

- how does one get to actually *try* this, other than building your own and then taking the leap of faith? It's one of those things that sounds just amazing to see, but partially because it pushes all my "I wonder what it would be like to do that" buttons.

Short answer: one doesn't.

Nobody is currently offering a rocketbelt ride to customers, nor is this likely to happen soon.

(Also note that in 45 years of history, no woman has ever flown a rocket belt. This may change.)

If you were to pursue the avenue you suggest, most of the people who have built their own will be in Niagara Falls next weekend, so you could get some tips from them.

In the old days, Bell's original rocket belts were flown by experienced test pilots. But at one point, the Army wanted to know whether inexperienced recruits could be taught to operate them. So Bell brought in a teenager, Bill Suitor, and he did indeed learn easily. Today he has more time-in-corset, and has flown more different versions of the rocket belt, than anybody else. People who've built new versions keep hiring him to test-fly them.

If you were learning to fly, you might start with something like Bell's tethered test rig: a set of nozzles fed by compressed-air hoses that allows you to "fly" inside a hangar. This would let you get experience controlling the thing and landing correctly, without the hazards of operating rocket engines or running out of propellant.

Come to think of it, this would be a lot easier to make than a real RB. Mention it to the Country House gang.

At the Art Museum

After looking at a whole lot of paintings in a whole lot of MOMA's rooms, I sat down next to my brother on a bench in the middle of a gallery.

We sat there for a while, just resting. Looking at the walls. Watching the people going by.

"You know," my brother said, indicating his messenger bag, "I've got a Diet Coke in here.

"If you've got some Mentos, I can guarantee that we'll be in the New York Post tomorrow."