Jetman: Flying Soon to a Landmark
Near You
Yves Rossy really likes jumping out of planes. At 52, the Swiss fighter pilot is the first person daring enough to strap a jet-powered wing to his back and soar over landmarks such as the English Channel, the Swiss Alps, and the Grand Canyon – feats which have earned him the nickname “Jetman.”
Although Rossy’s primary career has been that of pilot and daredevil, his journey to become Jetman produced him many engineering achievements as well. For the past two decades, Rossy has spent much of his free time pursuing a goal of flying with as little assistance as possible. This quest began in 1993 with the development of wingsuits and later an inflatable wing. In 2004, Rossy decided to turbo charge his wing using small jet engines, and changed the wing material to a sturdier carbon fiber.
Since then Jetman has been making successful flights all over the world, with some lasting as long as 18 minutes. He continues to make improvements to his unique jet-wing system and to hone his skills at handling the wing. Here’s an amazing new video where he manages to fly in formation with two adjacent airplanes:
Perhaps those jet packs we imagine for the future might not be so far off.
