The jetpack in GTA San Andreas comes from Black Project, a mission given by The Truth at the Verdant Meadows Airfield in Bone County. Two things gate it that the game does not make obvious: the mission is only available between 8pm and 6am, and CJ cannot be overweight when he starts it.
The Two Entry Conditions
If the mission marker is not there, it is almost always one of these:
- The time. Between 20:00 and 06:00 only. Turn up in daylight and there is nothing to start.
- CJ’s weight. Being overweight blocks it outright. If you have been eating your way through Los Santos, hit the gym first. Our guide on how to lose muscle covers the body stats and how they move.
Breaking Into Area 69
The mission itself is a stealth infiltration of the military base:
- Get inside before sunrise. The base is heavily patrolled, with soldiers and searchlights, and the clock is genuinely tight.
- Use the control tower to open the blast doors, which is how you get into the underground section.
- Take the keycard from the scientist you encounter, which opens the launch bay.
- The launch bay is where the black project is sitting at the bottom: the jetpack.
- Walk into it to equip it, then fly your way back up and out of the base.
Being detected turns a stealth mission into a firefight against a military base, so this is worth approaching patiently rather than running at it. A stealth kill with the knife is useful here, and our guide on how to stealth kill covers the conditions that make one work.
You Do Keep It
The ending of the mission is misleading. The Truth takes the jetpack and drives off, leaving CJ standing in the desert, which reads like the jetpack was a one-time story prop.
It is not. After the mission, a jetpack spawns at the Verdant Meadows airstrip and is yours to use freely from then on. If you finished Black Project and assumed it was gone, go back to the airstrip.
Flying It
The jetpack has no fuel limit and no time limit, which makes it the single best traversal tool in the game. It trivialises the collectible hunts, and it is the easiest way to reach rooftops and remote areas.
It is also the fastest way to escape trouble, since police cannot follow you upward. Our guide on how to start a gang war covers the fights where a vertical exit is worth having.
Frequently Asked Questions
What mission gives the jetpack? Black Project, from The Truth at Verdant Meadows Airfield.
Why can I not start the mission? Either it is daytime, or CJ is overweight. Both block it.
Do you keep the jetpack after the mission? Yes. It spawns at the Verdant Meadows airstrip afterwards.
Does the jetpack run out of fuel? No. There is no fuel or time limit.