beamjockey | Rocketbelt Convention, Day Three (Reply)

In addition to my other claims to fame, I have now played the ukulele of the First Man To Fly An Untethered Rocket Belt.

Sunday was the final day of the Rocketbelt Convention held at the Niagara Aerospace Museum in Niagara Falls, New York.

On Sunday, I caught Harold Graham posing for pictures in his bedraggled original rubber suit, and took the opportunity to play a few bars of "Five Foot Two." Here he is saying, and I quote directly, "I can see why you're not in the music business."

Captain Hal repeated his performance of "My Rocket Belt Days" on Sunday.

Ky Michaelson got lots of video footage of Eric Scott and the Go Fast/Jet P.I. rocket belt (which appears to be hanging on a garment trolley).

Eric Scott pressurizes his rocket belt before flight, causing a little snort of steam to vent from the exhaust nozzles. I was surprised to see that these guys don't wear eye protection. Note hose and water buckets used to wash away peroxide in emergencies or after landing.

Eric Scott, the Go Fast rocketman, takes off outside the museum on his Sunday demonstration flight. Spectators have been warned to cover their ears.

In the conference room at the Niagara Aerospace Museum, I came across these two 1950s-era spaceplane models. The left one appears to be BOMI (Bomber Missile), the Bell proposal for a skip-glider. I have yet to identify the one on the right, which says "Bell Aircraft" on the nose, so presumably it predates the creation of Bell Aerospace. I could ask the museum folks, but I haven't yet.

Sunday night, I went for a walk down to Goat Island to see the Falls. On the way, I learned that a statue had been erected of the King of Alternating Current, Nikola Tesla.