Elanso

Flying at an altitude of 2,600 feet, former Swiss air force fighter pilot Yves Rossy — aka “Fusion Man or Jet-man” — leaped from a plane yesterday wearing the contraption he’d spent 5 years designing and building. With retractable wings and 4 jet engines strapped to his back, Yves took flight through the Alps at 186 mph, did a series of figure 8’s, then folded his wings and parachuted to ground.

“It’s like a second skin. If I turn to the left, I fly left. If I nudge to the right, I go right.” Photo AP / Keystone, Laurent Gillieron

After 5 years of training, the 48-year-old Swiss man made his first public demonstration before world press of the homemade device using a new improved version of his jet propelled hang-glider for a 5 minute flight at an airfield near Lake Geneva, diving from his Swiss-built Pilatus Porter jet propelled hang-glider aircraft at 7,500 feet (2284 meters).

Free-fall gliding down to 2,500 feet (761 meters), Rossy triggered the 4 jet turbines and accelerated to 186 mph — about 65 miles (105 kilometers) faster than the typical falling skydiver — while a plane flew alongside him measuring his speed.

Steering with his body, Yves dived, turned and soared again, performing seemingly effortless loops from one side of the Rhone valley to the other, rising as much as 2,600 feet before descending again, leaving a trail of special-effects smoke in his wake.

A final wave to the crowd and the Fusion Man tipped his 10-foot rigid wings, flipped onto his back and leveled out again, performing an amazing perfect 360-degree roll.

“That was to impress the girls.” he confessed.

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo AP / Keystone, Laurent Gillieron

The Fusion Man who is the first in aviation history to fly a jet-powered device such as this said, “This flight was absolutely excellent.” after landing near the eastern shore of Lake Geneva.

While work with jet packs to propel humans dates back as far as World War II, his is the first device to also have wings.

Photo AP / Anja Niedringhaus

Photo AP / Anja Niedringhaus

Photo AP / Anja Niedringhaus

Now with this major challenge behind him, Yves has grander plans to cross the English Channel this year, which will be shown on live television. The extreme sports enthusiast plans to practice the 22-mile (35 kilometer) trip by flying between 2 hot air balloons.

“I still haven’t used the full potential.” he said.

And what could possibly surpass this next long-awaited event? Dreams of the Grand Canyon, of course.

But to achieve this, he will have to fit the wings with more powerful jets to allow for greater maneuvering.

Photo AP / Anja Niedringhaus

Photo AP / Anja Niedringhaus

Rossy surrounded by journalists after landing. Photo AP / Anja Niedringhaus

The German-built model aircraft engines he currently uses already provide 200 pounds of thrust and speeds from 120 to 300 mph, enough to allow Rossy and his 120 pound flying suit and 110 pound foldable carbon wings to climb through the air at 200 feet per minute.

“Physically, it’s absolutely no stress.” Rossy said. “It’s like being on a motorbike.”

But even the slightest movement can cause problems — Yves said he has to focus hard on relaxing in the air, because “if you put tension on your body, you start to swing around.”

Should things go wrong — and Rossy says they have more times than not — there’s always a yellow handle to jettison the wings and unfold the parachute.

“I’ve had many ‘whoops’ moments.” said Yves. “My safety is altitude.”

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo by Yves Rossy

Rossy wears a heat-resistant suit similar to those worn by firefighters and racing drivers to protect him from the heat of the turbines. The cooling effect of the wind and high altitude also prevent him from getting too hot.

With more than 30 flights since his first success, Yves says his flights will remain very few for now — the cost and effort involved are simply too enormous he says.

Rossy and his sponsors, including the Swiss watch company Hublot, have poured more than $285,000 and countless hours of labor into putting the contraption together.

He wouldn’t venture to estimate how much it would cost to put it to market, but believes similar jet-powered wings will one day be more widely available to partake in the ultimate flying experience.

That is, if they don’t mind missing out on the breathtaking panorama above the Swiss Alps.

“I am so concentrated, I don’t really enjoy the view.” Rossy said.

But this performance was not Yves’ first mind-blowing achievement. After 5 years of training and practice, Rossy was crowned with the Guinness World Record for his “Human Link” feat.

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo by Yves Rossy

While flying at an altitude of 4,500 feet (1,370 meters) in the air at 90 mph (145 kph), Yves climbed out onto the wing of the plane, reached out to grasp the wing of another flying alongside him, and hung suspended in mid-air as a human link between the two for 9.4 seconds (no, that was not a typo, the timer was still running in the image).

Releasing himself, he plummeted down to the earth below, ripped the cord to his parachute, and landed down safely as Guinness authorities recorded the event.

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo by Yves Rossy

Born August 27, 1959, the Swiss pilot, inventor and aviation enthusiast has served as a fighter pilot in the Swiss Air Force flying Dassault Mirage IIIs, Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs and Hawker Hunters. He flew Boeing 747’s for Swissair and now works as an Airbus pilot for Swiss International Air Lines.

The extreme sportsman has all types of sports under his belt, including aerobatics, hang-gliding, paragliding and skydiving with more than 1,100 parachute jumps behind him.

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo by Yves Rossy

Photo by Yves Rossy

Sources: The Associated Press, Daily Mail, and Wikipedia

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