- Four-minute test flight shows off six-foot ‘wing suit’ looping the loop over the Alps
- Pilot’s custom-built jet suit weighs 55kg and has two-metre wingspan
- Daring adventurer has also flown over Grand Canyon and English Channel
The pilot is aged over fifty, and the wing suit, weighing 55kg and with a wing span of six feet looks like a film prop – but when Yves Rossy launches into the skies, it looks like magic made real.
A new test flight saw the 52-year-old former fighter pilot soar dive and loop over the Swiss Alps.
‘The ultimate dream of flight – soaring through the air, not within a heavy and complicated machine but with only one’s body – it’s a dream everybody had at least once in their life,’ says Rossy.
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Swiss pilot Yves Rossy – also known as Jetman – soars through the sky with the help of a custom-built, jet-propelled wing strapped to his back
The six-foot wing suit weighs 55kg and travels at 125mph
The new test flight shows Rossy performing dangerous stunts such as loop-the-loops over the Alps
SO HOW DOES IT WORK? THE ‘MAGIC’ INSIDE ROSSY’S WING SUIT
Weight: 120lb
Wing span: 79″ (or 2 metres)
Average speed: 125mph
Climb: 360 yards per minute
Engine type: Four Jet-Cat P200
Engine size: Between 15 and 30 litres
Fuel: Mix of kerosene and 5 per cent turbine oil for lubrification
The 52-year-old became the first man in history to fly with a jet-propelled wing in November 2006.
‘Jetman’ Rossy flew fighter jets for the Swiss air force for 17 years.
His custom built flight suit weighs almost 55kg, and four engines, and can exceed speeds of 125mph.
He has also previously soared over the Grand Canyon for eight minutes, and over the English Channel, in 13 minutes.
Previously Jetman has flown his jet suit across Lake Geneva in 2002 and the English Channel in 2008.
All he has is an altimeter for safety, and a tiny throttle control in his hand.
The jet is built with model jet turbines – Rossy started with two, then moved up to four for full three-dimensional flight.
With the aid of gravity- such as when he plunged from a hot air balloon – he can reach speeds of 195mph.
The wing suit took 10 years of development and more than 15 prototypes.
The tiny figure of Rossy hurtles over the landscape. The wing suit took 10 years of development
‘JetMan’ is a speck against the sky as he hurtles over the Swiss Alps on his latest test flight
Earlier triumph: Yves Rossy takes his custom-made jet suit for a spin… over the Grand Canyon
Finishing line: Rossy soars 200 feet above the Canyon rim to complete the eight-minute flight
oh to have that feeling,good on you,man becomes bird ,i only wish i could soar with the eagles too
I am very happy some body’s having fun enjoying life and dreaming there is a future please send this guy your articles he needs a wake up call there going to be no one to buy his suits