The Case of the Missing Rocket Belt

Anonymous Coward writes "ABC News is running a very interesting article about the story behind those rocket belts you've seen in some movies. Apparently there are only three known to exist but one of them has gone missing leaving a trail of death and intrigue in its wake. From the article: 'One of its developers was found beaten to death in his Houston home, another is a suspect in the killing, and a third faces a possible life sentence for kidnapping the second and holding him hostage for seven days with a hood over his head.'"

Comments

You shoulda seen their faces.

[El_Smack]

From the article:
"Starting in the mid-1980s, Gibson, who was a stunt double for action star Chuck Norris, ran a side business exhibiting his rocket belts at cultural and sporting events around the world."
I remember seeing this during the intermission of "M. Butterfly". It really woke up the crowd!

Simpsons

[smoondog]

Didn't Bart buy a super belt once that got him beat up? If I remember that was the episode Homer got mauled in. Anyway, the missing belt'll turn up on eBay soon anyway....

BTW - /. has been mighty freaky recently. Testing the new front page ads?

-Sean

Note to self:

[Kargan]

Do not develop rocket belt.

Re:Note to self:

[slagdogg]

Addendum to note to self:

If creating rocket belt with two psychotic friends, make three.

Re:Note to self:

[Anonymous Coward]

Addendum to addendum to note to self:

Sabotage thier belts.

Somebody explain this

[Eric Seppanen]

...But not many people know that working rocket belts actually exist. They were developed for the Army in the late 1950s, and after the Army decided they were not suitable for military use, dedicated civilians kept a few models in operation.

Today, three rocket belts are known to exist. Two are owned by Howard "Kinnie" Gibson, a daredevil and stuntman who acquired the patent on an essential part of the design.

If they were invented in the late 1950s, how is it possible that some guy still has a patent on part of the design, over 40 years later?

LOTRB

[syd02]

One Rocket Belt to rule them all, One Rocket Belt to find them...

Not commercially viable

[shadowj]

The problem is not that the machines are too expensive to produce; it's that there's no incentive to produce them on any scale. You need a truckload of support hardware, the fuel (hydrogen peroxide) is nasty stuff, and I imagine you'd have government regulators of all flavors descend upon you like flies to shit as soon as you have a working product.

And once you get all of that together... you have a noisy, dangerous, difficult-to-handle flying machine that will carry one very skilled pilot for about 30 seconds.

There may be a market for a few units for sports events, exhibitions, and... oh, wait, we already have that covered, don't we?

Notes to self:

[Bobulusman]

1. Steal rocket belt from partners.
2. Do not let Nazis get it.
3. Remember to patch that hole in it. Gum just won't cut it anymore.

Nope, only two steps now. ;-)

[flogger]

From the article:
"And that was pretty much it: you know, build the belt, go out and make a lot of money, and that was it."

Which translates into:

1. Build a belt.
2. Profit!


(maybe I sohould be anonymous)

Who does this guy think he is?

[Trogre]

Some kind of rocket scientist?