Daredevil Jet-Man Flies over Swiss Alps
Flying at an altitude of 2,600 feet, former Swiss air force fighter pilot Yves Rossy — aka “Fusion Man or Jet-man” — leaped from a plane yesterday wearing the contraption he’d spent 5 years designing and building. With retractable wings and 4 jet engines strapped to his back, Yves took flight through the Alps at 186 mph, did a series of figure 8’s, then folded his wings and parachuted to ground.
“It’s like a second skin. If I turn to the left, I fly left. If I nudge to the right, I go right.” Photo AP / Keystone, Laurent Gillieron
After 5 years of training, the 48-year-old Swiss man made his first public demonstration before world press of the homemade device using a new improved version of his jet propelled hang-glider for a 5 minute flight at an airfield near Lake Geneva, diving from his Swiss-built Pilatus Porter jet propelled hang-glider aircraft at 7,500 feet (2284 meters).
Free-fall gliding down to 2,500 feet (761 meters), Rossy triggered the 4 jet turbines and accelerated to 186 mph — about 65 miles (105 kilometers) faster than the typical falling skydiver — while a plane flew alongside him measuring his speed.
Steering with his body, Yves dived, turned and soared again, performing seemingly effortless loops from one side of the Rhone valley to the other, rising as much as 2,600 feet before descending again, leaving a trail of special-effects smoke in his wake.
A final wave to the crowd and the Fusion Man tipped his 10-foot rigid wings, flipped onto his back and leveled out again, performing an amazing perfect 360-degree roll.
“That was to impress the girls.” he confessed.
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo AP / Keystone, Laurent Gillieron
The Fusion Man who is the first in aviation history to fly a jet-powered device such as this said, “This flight was absolutely excellent.” after landing near the eastern shore of Lake Geneva.
While work with jet packs to propel humans dates back as far as World War II, his is the first device to also have wings.
Photo AP / Anja Niedringhaus
Photo AP / Anja Niedringhaus
Photo AP / Anja Niedringhaus
Now with this major challenge behind him, Yves has grander plans to cross the English Channel this year, which will be shown on live television. The extreme sports enthusiast plans to practice the 22-mile (35 kilometer) trip by flying between 2 hot air balloons.
“I still haven’t used the full potential.” he said.
And what could possibly surpass this next long-awaited event? Dreams of the Grand Canyon, of course.
But to achieve this, he will have to fit the wings with more powerful jets to allow for greater maneuvering.
Photo AP / Anja Niedringhaus
Photo AP / Anja Niedringhaus
Rossy surrounded by journalists after landing. Photo AP / Anja Niedringhaus
The German-built model aircraft engines he currently uses already provide 200 pounds of thrust and speeds from 120 to 300 mph, enough to allow Rossy and his 120 pound flying suit and 110 pound foldable carbon wings to climb through the air at 200 feet per minute.
“Physically, it’s absolutely no stress.” Rossy said. “It’s like being on a motorbike.”
But even the slightest movement can cause problems — Yves said he has to focus hard on relaxing in the air, because “if you put tension on your body, you start to swing around.”
Should things go wrong — and Rossy says they have more times than not — there’s always a yellow handle to jettison the wings and unfold the parachute.
“I’ve had many ‘whoops’ moments.” said Yves. “My safety is altitude.”
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo by Yves Rossy
Rossy wears a heat-resistant suit similar to those worn by firefighters and racing drivers to protect him from the heat of the turbines. The cooling effect of the wind and high altitude also prevent him from getting too hot.
With more than 30 flights since his first success, Yves says his flights will remain very few for now — the cost and effort involved are simply too enormous he says.
Rossy and his sponsors, including the Swiss watch company Hublot, have poured more than $285,000 and countless hours of labor into putting the contraption together.
He wouldn’t venture to estimate how much it would cost to put it to market, but believes similar jet-powered wings will one day be more widely available to partake in the ultimate flying experience.
That is, if they don’t mind missing out on the breathtaking panorama above the Swiss Alps.
“I am so concentrated, I don’t really enjoy the view.” Rossy said.
But this performance was not Yves’ first mind-blowing achievement. After 5 years of training and practice, Rossy was crowned with the Guinness World Record for his “Human Link” feat.
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo by Yves Rossy
While flying at an altitude of 4,500 feet (1,370 meters) in the air at 90 mph (145 kph), Yves climbed out onto the wing of the plane, reached out to grasp the wing of another flying alongside him, and hung suspended in mid-air as a human link between the two for 9.4 seconds (no, that was not a typo, the timer was still running in the image).
Releasing himself, he plummeted down to the earth below, ripped the cord to his parachute, and landed down safely as Guinness authorities recorded the event.
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo by Yves Rossy
Born August 27, 1959, the Swiss pilot, inventor and aviation enthusiast has served as a fighter pilot in the Swiss Air Force flying Dassault Mirage IIIs, Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs and Hawker Hunters. He flew Boeing 747’s for Swissair and now works as an Airbus pilot for Swiss International Air Lines.
The extreme sportsman has all types of sports under his belt, including aerobatics, hang-gliding, paragliding and skydiving with more than 1,100 parachute jumps behind him.
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo by Yves Rossy
Photo by Yves Rossy
Sources: The Associated Press, Daily Mail, and Wikipedia
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Wow, I bet the adrenaline high he received was one heck of a rush!
That looks like so much fun! Something I hope they mainstream one day and allow the public to do.
This guy earned a lot of respect I figure. Investing 5 years in this is something we can’t see very often.
I’ve seen this on TV, but your post kinda outruns the TV version. The amount of pics and videos here is amazing. You really love what you do or you have an evil dwarf under the desk who makes you do stuff like this.
No doubt, Mary Ann, I want one of these!
You can bet that there will be others jumping on the bandwagon to design similar contraptions with the amount of exposure he’s about to receive with it, Bape
Yves is a great inspiration as one who held to his dream and followed his passion, Gillian.
I hadn’t seen this on TV, but I don’t get to watching it a great deal. That’s quite the compliment, thank you. Hahaha, I don’t know what it is that takes over me, but when I find something that interests me, I don’t let it go until I’ve explored everything that I’m able to dig up on it of good interest
Thank goodness for all the eccentrics that make up our world. However you would not catch me in one of those things.
Another great story!
Its great to see someone following their passion…and what lovely teeth he has!!
This will no doubt stir my occasional night dreams of flying as a bird. A moment of silence, though, for some of those who will try to emulate it.
Our lives would be rather dull if it were not for the eccentrics
And thanks, John 
I hadn’t really noticed, Carrie, but you’re right, he does
Haha, too funny, Chuck
You’ve stirred up some of my own childhood memories of dreams that I could fly.
People want to fly like a bird from thousand years ago,now they are success.
I want to know when we can buy these in the shops!
My husband was telling me about this. It’s amazing that someone has actually managed to finally create this. Great job on the story–thanks!
You and me both, James
A lot of dreams, practice, dedication and money, Cindy, but he did make it happen. And thanks
By far one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Imagine him with the ability to launch from the ground!! Unbelievable.
Never seen this before! His courage and coolness must impress all girls he want!
Two thumbs up!
Now that would truly be a remarkable feat to be able to launch from the ground, Nathan
Hehe, I’m sure he impresses the ladies, Alex
simply breath taking! aviation has always been a matter of innovation and the innovation in this art has been the fastest compared to any other field.. devoloping marine technologies took centuries but the aviation has seen this kind of a growth within 100 years since its birth.
and this man taken it a notch higher. the very dream which led to the invention of airplanes.. “man flying like a bird”. looks like some kinda action animation story!!
salutes!!
True, Prabhu, where would technology be right now if not for man’s dreams? They might sound far-fetched at the time, but it’s those who have been driven beyond what others say that’s made the world as it is today.
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Amazing story. remember in the 50s when it was predicted that we’d all be traveling to work in our personal jets by the year 2000?
With petrol prices being what they are, I guess there will be more bikes rather than jets.
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Very useful stuff:D Will come back again soon!