Rocketpack or "Batman" Rope?

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2003-01-23 12:08am

Ok, I'm putting together a character that at some point in the story will need to reach the roff of a building quickly. (Sci-fi setting) I immediately thought "rocketpack" but is it overdone? Would a "Batman" type rapeller be better?

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-01-23 12:12am

Getting a reliable hold on something would be a problem, and getting your anchor back out after something like that would be very hard. There is a rocket pack out there that could easily get you to the roof of a building; max flight time is about a minute. But it's big and bulky.

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2003-01-23 12:41am

Sea Skimmer wrote:Getting a reliable hold on something would be a problem, and getting your anchor back out after something like that would be very hard. There is a rocket pack out there that could easily get you to the roof of a building; max flight time is about a minute. But it's big and bulky.

What would you think of something like a belt, with miniature boosters on each side?

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-01-23 12:55am

Lord Poe wrote:
Sea Skimmer wrote:Getting a reliable hold on something would be a problem, and getting your anchor back out after something like that would be very hard. There is a rocket pack out there that could easily get you to the roof of a building; max flight time is about a minute. But it's big and bulky.
What would you think of something like a belt, with miniature boosters on each side?

Propellant requires aside, the bottles would be highly lethal if punctured, I don't think you'd be able to control such a system very well. S

omething on your back is better, and more stable since the exhaust can be around your center of gravity with the top attached near the top of your back. Side packs would have exhausts below your center of gravity; you'd tip over in flight.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2003-01-23 01:19am

Wouldn't a rocket pack light your pants on fire?

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-01-23 01:32am

What about a rocket punch?

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-01-23 01:43am

RedImperator wrote:Wouldn't a rocket pack light your pants on fire?

A conventional rocket using combustion would, it would also give you third degree burns on your legs and ass easily.

What I'm thinking of is actually the Bell Textron Jet Pack, developed for the US Army in the 60's. I can't remember what the propellant is at the moment, but it doesn't combust. It's the same pack Bond uses in Thunderball, and the real pack was used for the shots. Flight time is limited, but it can go up to 600 feet and then go back down for a safe landing.

Of course your average hero can't carry around something quite so big.

Post by **Beowulf** » 2003-01-23 03:23am

H2O2 was the fuel

namdoolb · Post by **namdoolb** » 2003-01-23 10:47am

What about a climbing device?

Y'know, like some sort of serrated wheel assembly that you jab into the side of the building (assuming it's made of something you could get purchase on)
Then at the press of a button, this wheel assembly turns, and in doing so scales the side of the building.

It would also make a big ole' mess of the side of the building, but nothing's perfect

DocHorror · Post by **DocHorror** » 2003-01-23 11:12am

You could have some kind of Ulysses 31-esq rocket belt...it would do the job...

Or how about climbing claws?

Or a mixture, some device that propels the hero high into the air (kinda like a huge jump) then they latch onto the building wall with climbing claws & scale the building that way for the last few metres...

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2003-01-23 06:28pm

Lord Poe wrote:Ok, I'm putting together a character that at some point in the story will need to reach the roff of a building quickly. (Sci-fi setting) I immediately thought "rocketpack" but is it overdone? Would a "Batman" type rapeller be better?

Perhaps a rocket-propelled rapeller?

Post by **Beowulf** » 2003-01-23 06:47pm

namdoolb wrote:What about a climbing device?

Y'know, like some sort of serrated wheel assembly that you jab into the side of the building (assuming it's made of something you could get purchase on)
Then at the press of a button, this wheel assembly turns, and in doing so scales the side of the building.

It would also make a big ole' mess of the side of the building, but nothing's perfect

How are you going to get the pressure required to keep said wheel firmly embedded into the wall?

Andrew J. · Post by **Andrew J.** » 2003-01-23 06:53pm

The rocketpack would be fast, but it might just seem a bit silly. Would it fit in with the mood of the story?

Larz · Post by **Larz** » 2003-01-23 07:49pm

Rocket packs are silly and pending on how advance your technology base is, unlikely (last I read the modern day version of the jet pack has pathetically short flight times, on the magnitude of around 1 minute). A preasure propelled grapling hook would seem more realistic, IMO.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2003-01-24 05:24am

Levitation

FX · Post by FX » 2003-01-24 05:55pm

If your story's tech level will handle it an anti grav device would work very well. Have it drop grav to .01 or so and you push off the street, and guide yourself up the wall. A small burst of gas propellant would give you a rocket look, and get you to the top faster.

A glue head could be done for your anchor if you want to go with the rope. Make the attachment work like an umbrella attaching as it expands. Leave the head behind and reload if you want, or have pushing on the head release a chemical that dissolves the hardened glue.

namdoolb · Post by **namdoolb** » 2003-01-24 06:41pm

Beowulf wrote:
namdoolb wrote:What about a climbing device?

Y'know, like some sort of serrated wheel assembly that you jab into the side of the building (assuming it's made of something you could get purchase on)
Then at the press of a button, this wheel assembly turns, and in doing so scales the side of the building.

It would also make a big ole' mess of the side of the building, but nothing's perfect
How are you going to get the pressure required to keep said wheel firmly embedded into the wall?

Well, the design of the teeth on the wheel would be such that the rotation of the wheel would push them into the wall as it turned.

And you could use some kind of "umbrella" design on the spikes to ensure that the force needed to push the one at the top in is less than the force needed to pull the one at the botom out.
The umbrella design would also help to keep the wheel firmly embedded in the wall.

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2003-01-25 12:45am

Andrew J. wrote:The rocketpack would be fast, but it might just seem a bit silly. Would it fit in with the mood of the story?

Yup, its a sci-fi adventure. It would fit, but I didn't want some sort of Boba Fett pack. Good thoughts above everyone!

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2003-01-25 12:48am

FX wrote:If your story's tech level will handle it an anti grav device would work very well. Have it drop grav to .01 or so and you push off the street, and guide yourself up the wall. A small burst of gas propellant would give you a rocket look, and get you to the top faster.

That sounds better!

A glue head could be done for your anchor if you want to go with the rope. Make the attachment work like an umbrella attaching as it expands. Leave the head behind and reload if you want, or have pushing on the head release a chemical that dissolves the hardened glue.

I'll have to decide on that one, but again, good job!

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-01-25 12:53am

namdoolb wrote:
Beowulf wrote:
namdoolb wrote:What about a climbing device?

Y'know, like some sort of serrated wheel assembly that you jab into the side of the building (assuming it's made of something you could get purchase on)
Then at the press of a button, this wheel assembly turns, and in doing so scales the side of the building.

It would also make a big ole' mess of the side of the building, but nothing's perfect
How are you going to get the pressure required to keep said wheel firmly embedded into the wall?
Well, the design of the teeth on the wheel would be such that the rotation of the wheel would push them into the wall as it turned.

And you could use some kind of "umbrella" design on the spikes to ensure that the force needed to push the one at the top in is less than the force needed to pull the one at the botom out.
The umbrella design would also help to keep the wheel firmly embedded in the wall.

Rather then a wheel, a sort of rectangular single caterpillar track would be better, hand grips could be on each side. However it would still be very material dependent.

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Rocketpack or "Batman" Rope?

Rocketpack or "Batman" Rope?

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