Jetman Flies Above Grand Canyon

May 12, 2011 — Forget about watching birds soar above the Grand Canyon. Last Saturday, you could have seen Yves Rossy doing it instead. According to a statement released Tuesday, Rossy, known as “Jetman,” reached speeds up to 190 mph while flying over the canyon, thanks to four jet engines on his back and a 6 1/2-foot wing that he steers by moving his head and arms. Rossy’s flight was originally scheduled to occur a day earlier, and the media was there to witness the feat. But the flight was canceled and rescheduled for Monday or Tuesday, with training flights scheduled for the weekend, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on Wednesday. Thus, not one member of the media was there to witness Rossy’s first U.S. flight on Saturday. But Saturday's flight was all that Rossy could squeeze in between the 46 mph wind gusts dominating the weekend, said John Bishop of H5 Productions, a helicopter videography company that Rossy hired to record the event. "It's like the heavens said, 'It's time to go,'" Bishop said. The flight began with Rossy stepping onto the skids of Bishop's helicopter, which ascended to 8,000 feet. Rossy then dropped off and fired his jets and flew about 200 feet above the Grand Canyon’s rim for about eight minutes before opening his parachute and descending to the canyon floor. Even with a helicopter, Bishop said, trying to film the flight was a challenge. "From the time he took off, he was like a mosquito," he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Rossy canceled his flight on Friday because he was not prepared. He had planned a half-dozen training flights through the canyon over the preceding days. However, he couldn't go up in the air because the Federal Aviation Administration didn’t certify his wing. Jetman received FAA approval for the flight at 9 a.m. Friday, with the FAA classifying the wing plus pilot as an aircraft, and issuing registration number N15YR. "This is the most challenging place I could fly," he told the media. He said: "Without training, I don't want to take the risk. I hope you understand I'm a human, a human flying." Rossy doesn't have any plans of returning to the Grand Canyon for a public flight as originally planned, spokeswoman Rachel Jones-Pittier said. Click here to view his flight.

Jetman soars over the Grand Canyon in his first U.S. flight May 7. Photo credit: Breitling Yves Rossy reached speeds up to 190 mph during his May 7 flight. Photo credit Breitling Yves Rossy has spent 15 years perfecting the wings that allow him to fly like a bird.

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