- Title: SWITZERLAND: Jetman Yves Rossy, sets another record with his fuel powered wing
- Date: 5th November 2010
- Summary: BERCHER, SWITZERLAND (5 NOVEMBER 2010) (REUTERS) SMOKE LINE OF JETMAN LOOPING NEXT TO THE HOT AIR BALLOON
- Embargoed: 20th November 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Switzerland
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVAC4EMFKU675SLS6J5CLIV5RY9R
- Story Text: The first man to fly with only a fuel powered wing in his back, accomplishes his first looping, taking his quest to fly like a bird a step further.
Yves Rossy, the Swiss former military pilot otherwise known as Jetman, accomplished acrobatic figures for the first time on Friday (November 5), achieving yet another record with prowess in his quest to fly like a bird.
The Jetman took off in the morning, with his fuel powered wing on his back, from a hot-air balloon piloted by British balloonist Brian Jones. Jones had flown around the world in a hot air balloon along with Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard in 1999.
Rossy was taken to an altitude 2,400 meters, where he was released from the balloon's basket with the 4 jet-engines turned on.
After a few minutes' flight, he accomplished two full loopings for the crowd watching him from the ground in awe.
"It went very well, the first thing I would like to say is thank you to all my team, because I was the only one to jump but everyone participated in put me up there and bring me back down safe", he said after his landing.
The flight was performed with a new wing, 50 centimetres shorter than the old one and without deployable parts, designed with a more aerodynamic profile to ensure better stability.
Yves Rossy's passion for sports and a solid experience as a Swiss Air Force pilot drove him to seek extreme sensations by flying with his own wing. His first jet engine was unsuccessfully tested in March 2003 and lead to a rigid, deployable carbon wing developed in 2004.
He completed his first successful flight in 2005 with two jet engines fixed under his wing, after a few failures which had forced him to release the wing and finish with a parachute.
A sufficiently performing prototype was achieved in 2006 and allowed him to cross the Channel in 2008. His latest product just took his quest to fly one step further by allowing him to gain altitude, opening the path to a much wider range of performances. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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