You'll Believe a Hunk of Iron Can Fly

[beamjockey]

Yesterday I failed to note that the Scientific American presentation is actually in three parts.

"The Trouble with Rocket Packs," in which I am briefly quoted, saying something fairly obvious.
"Will the Personal Jet Pack Ever Get off the Ground?," a look at the future of these devices.
The slide show, in which the last picture is of special interest.

Speaking of rocket belts, for a sneak preview in Austin, Texas the other day, Eric Scott of Jetpack International was persuaded to don an Iron Man costume.

Nice flight.

(Like the vocalists in the clip, I, too, remember the almost-not-animated 1966 Grantray-Lawrence Iron Man series. Reading up on it today, I learned that it featured both stories and artwork lifted directly from the comics. These cartoons (along with Captain America, Prince Namor, the Incredible Hulk, and the Mighty Thor in the same syndication package airing on CKLW) were my first glimpse of the Marvel characters. They seemed darker but more intriguing than Superman and his friends. I wonder whether the new movie will make such a big deal out of Tony Stark's artificial heart being "transistorized.")

Comments

[wcg.livejournal.com]

CKLW? Do you have Detroit connections? (I associate you with Chicago.)

[beamjockey.livejournal.com]

Moved to Detroit from Rochester, N. Y. (in those days, we still used periods after N and Y) in 1962. Moved out again, to Miami, in 1967. Prime TV-watching years, you betcha.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

So you would remember Poopdeck Paul, and The Friendly Giant, and suchlike. Yes? Dang Bill, one of these days I'm going to *have* to catch up with you. I was born in Motown, and spent a fair amount of my formative years there.

[beamjockey.livejournal.com]

Yup. Have you met Brother Guy Consolmagno? He's another Detroit boy from the same era. He is close to Martha and Brad Schaefer, whom you might know from their GSFC years.

Given his name, and his position at the Vatican Observatory, some people have been surprised when they meet him, and compliment him on his fluent English.

He used to explain that he is an American and grew up in Detroit, but quickly found that this introduced awkwardness into the conversation.

Nowadays, he simply smiles and says, "Thank you. I studied in the United States."

[wcg.livejournal.com]

I've never met Brother Guy, but I've read a lot about him. I wonder which of the Catholic high schools he went to?

[beamjockey.livejournal.com]

University of Detroit Jesuit, which seems like an odd name for a high school.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

It's the high school associated with the University of Detroit, a Jesuit college. I almost went there myself. I was accepted there, but decided to go to Salesian (all boys, Catholic) high school instead. U of D HS has an excellent reputation. It's a very competitive place, with very high academic standards. Or at least it was in the late 60s.

[bigbumble.livejournal.com]

I actually attended the University of Detroit for a 2 week long summer course on yearbook photography. Coincidentally, I arrived there the day Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

I was in Tucson Arizona that day. I remember it well.