ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

This is one of the better Republic serials (later released in condensed form as "Lost Planet Airmen"), but it doesn't quite measure up to the thrills provided by The Rocketeer.

Still, it does offer death-defying feats and cliff-hanging dangers galore. Tristram Coffin is the hero with the rocket-powered backpack, battling evil in the name of the Science Association. The villain is Dr. Vulcan, who threatens New York City with destruction if a billion dollar ransom isn't paid.

The mayor refuses and Dr. Vulcan makes good his threat by causing an earthquake and a tidal wave (with scenes borrowed from 1933's "Deluge"). The admirable special effects were recycled for the "Commando Cody" serial a few years later.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[scotpens]

One thing I never understood about the Rocketman/Commando Cody flying jacket: Why are the controls on the front of the thing where the pilot can't see them -- unless he's a contortionist?

[Bud Brewster]

Good point!

Let's take a close look at that control panel and see if it makes sense from an engineering point of view.

The two knobs at the top are labeled "up / down" and "on / off". Below them is a knob which controls the speed -- a thrust control. Okay, that's perfectly reasonable. No problem there.





But the up and down control seems a little odd. If the Rocket Man was descending after taking off, what does the "down" setting do to change that? And how does he turn left and right without a knob for it?

More puzzling still are the numbers around the knob, running from 0 to to 10. Are these meant to indicate the degree of up-ness and down-ness the Rocket Man wants?

Seems like an cumbersome way to adjust the angle of flight. Clearly there seems to be some problems with the design concepts here.

Most puzzling of all are the numbers around the On / Off knob. What do they indicate? The degree On-ness and Off-ness? How does 0 in the On setting differ from any number at all in the Off setting?

That's like using a double negative. Zero degrees ON means OFF, right? I used to teach my students that when somebody said, "I ain't got no money," it meant they were NOT broke -- so the DID have money.

And why does ON have settings labeled 0 to 4, while Off has settings labeled 6 to 10?

And finally, what the hell does the 5 right in the middle of On and Off indicate? Halfway ON and halfway Off? What the crap does that mean?

What is this, some kind of existential control panel? Set it on 5 and the control panel gets to make all the choices because it's "a free and responsible agent determining it's own development through acts of the will."

No doubt about, this piece of hardware needs to go back to the drawing board!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

The ON-OFF numbering speaks to me of electric blankets.

"Would you like the blanket ON, honey?"

"Yes, just a little."

Or maybe an old ditty I once heard...

[scotpens]

When Rocket Dude wants to go really, really fast, he turns the knob to 11.

[Bud Brewster]

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Right, and if he want's to go really really down he turns that knob to 10.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Ahh, the inspiration for one of my all time fav films, The Rocketeer. TR should have been a huge hit for Disney & created a franchise for 'em.

Alas, it was not to be.

[Bud Brewster]

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Yep, The Rocketeer is a prime example of a movie that deserved to succeed — but it didn't, for reasons none of us who loved it could possibly explain.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Robert (Butch) Day]

As per usual the Disney Suits don't know how to treat Sci-Fi.

Witness The Rocketeer, Escape to Witch Mountain (1975), John Carter, Tomorrowland, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (TV 1999), Zenon: The Zequel (2001) Zenon: Z3 (2004), Plymouth (1991)and Earth Star Voyager (1988) among many others.

Disney's 'Sci-Fi' TV shows are even worse catering to the preteen crowd.
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Common Sense ISN'T Common

[Rocky Jones]

"Rocket Men"/"Airmen" had what I think is some of the best flying man effects ever. They actually stand up pretty well even today. Apparently they actually ran a mannequin along a wire stretched between two hills, I guess high in the LA area mountains.

I was thinking it's too bad the same effects guys didn't work on the '50s TV Superman show, though without the helmet the flying mannequin might need a bit of work.

[Robert (Butch) Day]

Who do the members think was the best Rocket Man?

Tristram Coffin as Jeff King in King of the Rocket Men (1949)?

or

George Wallace as Commando Cody in Radar Men From the Moon (January, 1952)?

or

Judd Holdren as Larry Martin in Zombies of the Stratosphere (July, 1952)?

or

Judd Holdren as Commando Cody in Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe (1953)?
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Common Sense ISN'T Common

[Krel]

[Gord Green]

Back to the discussion on the "dials" on the control panel.

Perhaps the numbers refer to the duration and thrust of the rockets.

For example "up" means the duration and power of the thrust starting at high thrust for take off diminishing to lower thrust for cruising. Likewise "down" means gradualy diminishing the power of the thrust either slowly (6) or quickly (10) depending on how quickly the descent will be.

Speed control would be a auto-pilot setting for the air speed required by the wearer. Since there are no readouts anywhere the regulation must be intuitive based on parameters noted in the testing phase of the rocket packs development.

"On" and "OFF" could be for determining the "richness" of the rocket fuel mixture. There are 2 tanks in the unit. One would be the fuel and the other the oxidizer. On and off would set the amount of fuel fed to the combustion chamber. Cruising might not require the full thrust needed for takeoff and landing.

On all dials the middle position would be to turn the function on and off.

Turning and banking would be controled by body movements alone. Perhaps the outspread hands and arms act as an airfoil to alter attitude of the man/rocket unit.

All of these controls would have to go through a onboard computer acting as an semi-auto-pilot regulating the "fine tuning" these movements would require.

[orzel-w]

You had me, up until the "onboard computer", Gord. Test pilots of this era took pride in their skill at flying "by the seat of their pants". In the case of Rocketman, this would have been especially true.
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Gord Green]

True enough, Orzel, except there are no readouts or gauges for the pilot/operator to use. (Unless there was something in the helmet that we haven't seen---Not too likely!)

With no feedback to indicate status to the pilot some functions would likely be automated in some way. Today that would be through microprocessors, but back in the day it may have been of a more mechanical nature built into the rocket pack.

I know a carburetor, for example, is not a "computer" but it does in a crude way function mechanically as present day sensors and chips electronically do to control air/fuel mixtures to an engine.

There would have been some kind of analogue to it to control these functions and would have to be to allow the simplicity of the control panel.

Remember, aircraft in the 40's and 50's had a type of "cruise control" auto-pilots. A version of that may have been miniaturized for the rocket packs.

The ROCKETEER'S rocket pack by contrast seemed to have only one control for ignition and a constant feed to the combustion chamber.





Of course, it's also possible that they just sent away for the plans from the back of some old comic book!