It’s a Bird…It’s a plane…No, it’s Jet-Man!

Switzerland – January 2, 2007 – He’s not Batman or Superman. But he does have a look as well as a unique ability to get around in ways normal people cannot. Meet Yves Rossy, a former Swiss army pilot and current Swiss airline pilot who loves to tinker. His latest project — creating a personal winged jetpack — earned him the nickname Jet-Man. Rossy earned the title on a Dec. 19 flight that lasted six minutes and 30 seconds. On that Tuesday, he jumped from an airplane over the Swiss Alps and deployed the pack's aerodynamic carbon foldable wings. Then he powered up the pack's four small jet engines and flew horizontally at speeds greater than 100 knots before he cut the jets and opened his parachute to float to the ground. Rossy wears both a main parachute, as well as an emergency backup that can deploy even if he was unconscious. "The idea is to have fun, not to kill yourself," Rossy told Reuters. "The most exciting moment in the last couple of flights is when I put full gas and start going higher. I'm used to flying locked up in airplanes, to be completely free and practically at level with the fir trees, being practically naked, it's pure adrenaline.” His jetpack idea is not new. Rossy flew his first model in 2002 and in June 2004, he dropped out of a plane, started the wings’ ignition and made a four-minute horizontal flight. He’s made more than 30 test flights, making revisions based on each flight. Although his current design can only propel a person already in flight, eventually Rossy hopes to build a jetpack able to lift its pilot off the ground. In addition, more fine-tuning is needed before he can do aerobatics and vertical climbs, he said. Who is Jet-Man? He was born Aug. 27, 1959; he is married, but has no children. Ives Rossy was a military pilot, and has flown the Northrop F-5 "Tiger" and the Dassault Mirage III. From 1988-2000, he worked as a co-pilot on a DC-9 and Boeing 747 for Swissair, then becoming captain flying several models of Airbus aircraft. He also enjoys hang gliding, paragliding and skydiving, and has completed more than 1,100 parachute jumps.

Jet-Man, Yves Rossy, poses with his foldable carbon wings before a flight. Rossy made more than a six-minute flight with his invention on December 19, 2006. Jet-Man leaves his jump airplane for his December 19th flight. Note the folded wings to save space on the ride up to altitude. Jet-Man in flight over the Swiss Alps. Could this be a dawn of a new era in personal transportation? See Jet-Man’s Amazing Video! For More Information Jet-Man’s web site

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