The Rocket Pack is a twin rocket-powered jet back that appears in The Rocketeer and the animated series of the same name. It was originally a top-secret invention that was stolen by gangsters, and at some point ended up in the possession of stunt pilot, Cliff Secord, who would later bare the name, the Rocketeer.
Specifications
The Rocket pack is basically two rocket jets mounted side-by-side, and is worn on the back like a backpack. It packs enough power to make a person fly like a rocket. It is controlled by two throttles, fitted to the gloves, and a helmet fitted with a rudder, which helps the person steer.
Appearances
The film
The original rocket pack was stolen by two gangsters from Howard Hughes. During their escape from the authorities leading to an airfield, one of the fleeing gangsters hid the rocket pack in a biplane, which would later be found by Cliff Secord. During a local air show, Cliff uses the rocket pack (and Peevy's newly designed face-hiding finned helmet) to rescue his friend Malcolm, who is drunkenly piloting a biplane. He soon becomes a media sensation, but also sets Neville Sinclair and the FBI on Cliff's tail.
As the film goes on, Cliff learns from the rocket pack's designer, Hughes, that it is a prototype similar to one the Nazis have unsuccessfully attempted to develop, and now they seek to steal it for mass production, depicting an army of flying soldiers invading the United States. Neville Sinclair is revealed to be a Nazi spy and threatens to kill Cliff's girlfriend, Jenny Blake if he does not surrender the rocket pack to him. In his effort to rescue her, he is forced to give up the rocket pack, but not before secretly removing the chewing gum patch, allowing fuel to leak near the rocket pack's exhaust. Sinclair dons the rocket pack and flies off. The leaking fuel causes it to catch on fire, causing Sinclair to plummet to his doom and crash into the Hollywood sign. However, Cliff receives the blueprints for the rocket pack after he is presented with a new plane from Hughes. This encourages him and his friend Peevy to build an even better one.
The series
Kit's grandfather, Ambrose Secord, kept the rocket pack hidden away, told by someone to hang on to until the next Rocketeer was chosen. When Kit received the Rocketeer's helmet on her seventh birthday, he unveiled the rocket pack to her, declaring her the new Rocketeer. Since it was so old, Kit's grandfather gave the pack a tuneup and a new paint-job, along with a new helmet.
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