Take to the Skies! Personal Flight Gear

 "Break out the Rocket Belts, Boys!"

• Dr. Benton Quest, in The Invisible Monster

That's probably my favorite quote from the Jonny Quest show. What adventure-seeking kid hasn't wanted to take to the skies with pounds of highly flammable fuel strapped to their backs?

The Traveller Book's vehicle chapter gives us the Grav Belt at TL12:

Grav Belt (12) Cr100,000, negligible weight if on; 10 kg if turned off. Personal anti-gravity transportation using a single null-gravity module and a personal harness. Performance is similar in speed and range to the air/raft.

But what other devices have appeared in fact or fiction to give somebody a lift? Turns out there have been quite a few.

TL-1 the Wings of Icarus Cost: 20 Cr Speed: 15kph Range 5km

TL-3 Da Vinci's flying apparatus Cost: 250 Cr Speed: 20 kph Range: 20 km

TL-5 The Rocketeer' jetpack Cost: 2,500 cr Speed 45kph range 50km

TL-6 James Bond's jetpack Cost 3,000 cr Speed 20 kph Range 75km

This model is a lot less flammable as it uses compressed gas instead of petrochemicals.

TL-7 Dr. Quest's rocket belts Cost: 4,000 cr Speed: 25 kph Range 250km

The show gives no data on what the propulsion method is here. And really, we don't need to know.  It's just cool.

I recommend that at TL 8 through 10:

TL 8 +10% range and speed over TL-7

TL 9 +10% range and speed over TL 8

TL 10 +10% range and speed over TL 9

At TL-9, fusion provides enough power that the ornithopter becomes a practical possibility. Cost 10,000 Speed 70kph Range 300 km weight 500kg

Castle in the Sky. Cool movie. You should watch it.

Tl-11 introduces the grav-assist rocket packs, at 75% cost & performance of the grav belt.

Now for a short side-path in personal flight - the flying platform!

the Hz-1 "aerocycle" personal helicopter

TL 5 Cost 6,000 cr Speed 25 kph Range 50km Skill: helicopter-1+

There's no way this could go horribly wrong, is there?

The Hillier

TL6 Cost 5,000 cr Speed 30 kph Range 60km Skill helicopter-1+

Either of these flying platforms, if developed across a few tech levels, could become a regular form of personal transportation at least in developed and urban areas.

Until contra-gravity comes into play, a planet's Atmosphere rating will have an impact on the flying platforms and the early model flying machines. The rocket based propulsion at TL 5-10 will not be affected by atmosphere.