Circa 1909
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Specs:
Price $1190 Available
- 12.6 lbs 16” W x 19” H x 6” D
Inventor:
Steam powered rocket pack designed by Bernard Maets, a little known but very prolific inventor of the 19th century.
Type and Function:
To fly like the birds has always been a dream of mankind. No less for Bernard V. Maets who’s vision of flight led him to experiment with rocket packs such as this unit. Reportedly capable of short hops due to the limited fuel and steam capacity, this unit made several manned flights in 1909 and 1910.
The center tanks when charged combine with the Maets secret formula in the two small tanks to create a high pressure steam that streams from the four nozzles on this unit. Two primary nozzles and two stablizing nozzles. This unit can actually be test fired using cold “steam”. The lift is significant, but not sufficient, at this point, to lift a person. Video to come.
Recovery Site:
Initially mistaken for a coffee machine this unit was on display for years in a small cafe in Paris near the Eiffel Tower. It was only on a visit to France by one of the Maets Foundation members that the unit was properly recovered and identified for its real use as a rocket pack. Further research is on going.
Principal Investigator:
This object has been recovered, studied and restored by Ed Kidera. Initial images show the unit without the harness, control throttle and display stand.
Discover the reality
Test Flight
