Gordon “Gordy” Yaeger (no relationship to Charles “Chuck” Yeager) was approached by Thunderbolt Aerosystems in early 2000, when problems with stability augmentation control of the TP-R1G2, was causing it to tip backwards upon takeoff.

Mr. Yaeger had an extensive career at Bell Aerosystems, built upon a broad range of experiences in research, development, production evaluation and testing for the Aerospace and Military Transport Industry.  He lent himself to help Nino Amarena’s Thunderpack design unabated --like during the days when he was a full active engineer at Bell-- and provided several insight on the original design criteria of the rocketbelt, which were not published nor spoken about for many years.

This allowed Nino Amarena to delve with theories and implementations of techniques dreamed but untried during the days of the early design of the Small Rocket Lift Device, as the Bell rocketbelt project was code named.

Yaeger obtained  his engineering degrees at State University of New York at Buffalo and at the University of California at Los Angeles. Gordon Yaeger joined the Bell Aircraft Rocket Lab in April 1951 working on rockets designed to propel planes. In 1955 he traveled to Rogers AFB in the Mojave Desert near Lancaster, CA to work on the Bell X-2. His family joined him for 1 1/2 years.

Back at Niagara Falls, he was assigned to work on the “Rascal” rocket missile at Holliman AFB in New Mexico and then was sent to Elgin AFB in Florida to assist in training of Air Force personnel from 1958-1959.