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Swiss-born pilot and adventurer Yves Rossy is the self-proclaimed "first jet-powered flying man in the history of aviation".

Before developing his jet-propelled wing, Rossy spent much of his professional life as a pilot—first in the military, flying the Tiger F5 and the Mach 2 Mirage III—then as a commercial co-pilot, flying DC-9s and Boeing 747s for Swissair. He's also an experienced hang-glider and paraglider, he's sky surfed off a hot air balloon over the Matterhorn, and he has over 1,100 parachute jumps under his belt.

Rossy rides aboard a small aircraft until they reach an altitude of 7,500 feet. At that point, with the device strapped to his back, Rossy leaps from the plane. During free-fall, he begins a steady glide with his wings extended. Then he fires the four Jet-Cat P200 jet engines, and BOOM—he's off, reaching speeds of 186 miles per hour. When ready or when he runs out of fuel, Rossy pulls his chute and flutters to earth.



According to Rossy, the body experiences very little stress during flight. Furthermore, a heat-resistant suit—plus the chilly air temperature—protects him against the heat of the engines.

Yves Rossy's jet-propelled wing is a thing of beauty, but it didn't start out that way. Rossy experienced some low points along the way. For example one early failed prototype featured an inflatable wing; another failed effort featured a wing made from rigid carbon, but in 2004 at an air show he went into a spin and was forced to release the wing, which tore his parachute. A year later while in-flight he experienced uncontrollable oscillations, and had to release the wing, which was largely destroyed by ground impact.

Not until November of 2006 during a text flight over Bex, Switzerland did he finally see the kind of performance he wanted—a flight that amounted to "a waking dream lasting 5 minutes and 40 seconds." He experienced another setback in 2007, but since then it's been pretty smooth sailing for the Swiss adventurer, including a successful September 2008 flight across the English Channel, from Calais to Dover.

Next up for the Jet Man? A flight across the Grand Canyon.

Sources
jet-man.com
futurecars.com