‘Fusion Man’ Yves Rossy Crosses English Channel With Personal Jet Wing
September 26, 2008
Yves Rossy, known as ‘Fusion Man’ in some circles, has successfully crossed the English Channel using his personal jet wing contraption. You may remember my previous mention of Yves, when his jet wing was officially unveiled back in May. This suit, once strapped to his back, will allow Yves to propel himself over 200 mph through the sky.
Back in May, Yves was busy testing his latest invention. The inventor and aviation enthusiast concluded that testing process and was recently looking for a big adventure. This adventure would have to be something that would show off his invention, while also paying respects to the past. The English Channel looked to be perfect.
Yves lept from a plane at 8,200 feet, fired up his jets, and went on a wild 22 mile ride. The jet wing houses four turbine jet engines and no steering mechanism, other than Yves’ own body. He twists and turns to get the jet wing to go in the direction it should.
His flight began in Calais, France, then zipped across the channel to a small strip of land near South Foreland. He shut the jets down and parachuted to the ground amidst many spectators and fans. His route had followed that of french aviator pioneer Louis Bleriot, the first person to cross the English Channel in an airplane 99 years ago.
To read more on Yves Rossy’s amazing flight, be sure to check out this Associated Press article.
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Written by Jason A. Hendricks · Filed Under aviation |
I watched that video with my 3 year old. The first thing he said was “It’s a real Buzz Lightyear!”
That’s actually not far from the truth. Perhaps Buzz was an inspiration to Yves Rossy. I read that his contraption would cost in the neighborhood of $119,000 if it were sold to the public. I could see some people forking out that cash for the fun factor..
No kidding. I jumped for the first time a couple weeks ago, and those skydiving die-hards that took me- I can see them dropping the cash for that type of experience.
You know what’s funny- I emailed my skydiving friend to see if he’d seen the Yves Rossy story. He emailed me back saying he knows the guy, and that he’ll be jumping with him at the Skydive Utah drop zone this November. I may just go over and watch, since the DZ is pretty much in my backyard. Small world, huh?