Yves Rossy – Swiss pilot known for his jetpack flights
Industry insiders predict that by 2025, the jetpack will be an accepted part of everyday life. But in the world’s playground of Dubai, on a sunny November morning in the year 2015, it took two men leaping out of a helicopter at 5,500 feet for many to believe it was possible. These weren’t skydivers; indeed, both daredevils had jetpacks strapped to their backs, along with 2-meter-wide carbon fiber wings.
As the two jetmen descended, the world’s largest passenger plane — the Airbus A380 — comes into view below them. The jetmen look like little bugs under it and are dwarfed by its enormous size. But they fall into formation with the plane, flying alongside it for 10 minutes across fly over Dubai and making quite a spectacle.
You’re the Jetman
Rossy’s love of aviation started at a young age. His education was secondary. Instead, he went on to fly for the Swiss Air Force, getting experience with fast jets like Dassault Mirage IIIs and Hawker Hunters. Later in his career, he flew planes for Swissair and Swiss International Airlines.
When Rossy found out that a Boeing jet couldn’t offer him the exhilaration of flying like a bird, he set about building his own personal flight device. He called it a wingsuit and it was essentially a backpack equipped with carbon fiber wings and four jet engines.
The wing of this short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft consists of a series of carbon-fiber panels, which are bolted together to form a wing with a surface area of 2.4 meters. The engine is based on the Jetcat P400s – a scaled-down version of the engines seen on commercial jets. The device can fly for 13 minutes at maximum speed up to 220 knots, covering 31 miles in that time period.
Jetman Rossy took his first record-breaking flight in 2006, flying horizontally for six minutes from Bex in Switzerland. Since then, the Jetman has undertaken numerous stunts and challenges as well as record-breaking attempts, earning him a place in aviation history as one of the most innovative flyers around.
Tom Rossy has been super adventurous over the past 15 years. In 2008, he became the first person to use a jet-powered wing to cross the English Channel. In 2010, he used his improved wingsuit to perform two aerial loops after launching from a hot air balloon. In 2011, he flew over the Grand Canyon and in 2013, he accomplished three goals: crossing the English channel using a standard paraglider while wearing his jet-powered wingsuit, as well when flying over Mount Fuji!
vince salvador
November 9th, 2022
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