Born on March 6, 1918 in Canton, Ohio Wendell Moore came into this world a child who’s future would be shaped by his drive to design amazing inventions.
Wendell Moore became interested in aviation at a young age after observing a Stearman training aircraft flying near his parents’ house. This simple bi-plane fueled his imagination leading him –at the age of 15– to design and build his own gasoline model airplane he called "Little Abe". Wendell ingeniously attached a Brownie box camera to take aerial photographs of his neighborhood. His love of building model aircraft eventually inspired Moore to learn to fly and get his pilot license.
He was educated at the State University of Ohio, in Kent, and Indiana Institute of Technology, in Ft. Wayne, where he studied both aeronautical engineering and rocket propulsion. Wendell (those close to him called him Wendy) came to Bell Aircraft (later named Bell Aerosystems and finally Bell Aerospace in 1966) in 1945.
In 1956, while working on the Bell X-2 rocket plane project at Edwards Air Force Base in California, he began to draw a picture in the desert sand while standing under the wing of the X-2. A fellow co-worker, Jim Powell, also of Bell Aerosystems, looked and listened to Moore's concept of what would become known as the "rocket belt". Moore had learned of the U.S. Army's Transportation Research Command (TRECOM) interest in finding ways to make troops more mobile. Moore set out to invent a device that could carry a foot soldier over rough terrain or be used for aerial surveillance.
After returning to Bell Aerosystems with his drawing in hand, Moore managed to convince Bell administrators to allow him to make an experimental test rig to prove the idea would work. Moore designed and built the nitrogen-gas rig that would be used as a learning platform for how to place and build the different components necessary to make a portable backpack style rocket belt capable of carrying a man into a controlled flight. The first rocket belt that he built ended up costing Bell Aerosystems $380,000 in 1960!
After a number of test flights in the nitrogen gas rig, Moore felt confident he could make a rocketbelt and did so, but before he could make an untethered flight in his rocket belt he shattered a kneecap in his last tethered flight when a cable snapped. Wendell, had initially wanted to be the pilot for a free-flight rocket belt demonstration, but with his knee in such bad shape, he began to look for another test pilot to be the first to fly the machine. Moore would personally train all his rocket belt pilots with extreme care, especially in the area of safety.
Harold Graham was that man who became the first man to do those free-flights and did many of those flights you will see on the videos. Perhaps one of the most famous videos is the one of the man flying in Disneyland and the most famous picture is of Harold flying at Ft. Bragg and landing in front of President Kennedy.
The concept of flying free appealed to the movie industry, where the Bell rocket belt would make its mark in history. Demonstrated in over 13 countries worldwide and after many movie (James Bond Thunderball) and television guest appearances (Lost in Space, The Fall Guy, Ark, The A-Team, etc.), the Bell Aerosystems’ rocketeers became instant celebrities. It’s just too bad that Wendell had to experience an injury so early in the belt’s history. Wendell Moore's rocket belt concepts grew to include other devices incorporating this technology, such as the one and two-man flying pogos, flying rocket chair and even had the interest of NASA for its lunar transportation program.
After Wendell’s death in 1969 the patent was sold but the drive for personal flight lives on. You can find many sites out there as well as videos of home-made rocket belts or jet packs. There are some that are being made with the greatest of care. Please see my links page for some of these sites.