Yves Rossy
Encyclopedia
Yves Rossy is a Swiss
pilot, inventor and aviation
enthusiast. He is the first person to achieve sustained human flight using a jet
-powered fixed wing strapped to his back. This jet pack
has led to his being nickname
d Jet Man, Rocket Man and Fusion Man.
s modified from large-model, kerosene fueled, aircraft engines. His first flight occurred in November 2006 in Bex
, lasting nearly six minutes and nine seconds. Yves later successfully flew across the English Channel
on 26 September 2008 in 9 minutes 7 seconds, reaching a speed of 299 km/h (186 mph) during the crossing
Later in 2008, he made a flight over the Alps, reaching a top descent speed of 304 km/h (189 mph) and an average speed of 124 mph.
In November 2009, Rossy attempted a crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar
, hoping to be the first person to fly between two continents using a jetpack. He leapt from a small plane about 1,950 m (6,500 ft) above Tangier
in Morocco
in the direction of Atlanterra in Spain
. The flight was expected to take about a quarter of an hour but, due to strong winds and banks of cloud, Rossy ditched into the sea, to be picked up ten minutes later by his support helicopter
3 miles from the Spanish coast. He was flown to a hospital in Jerez, and later released unhurt. The Spanish Coast Guard
later retrieved the jetpack (which had a parachute
and a float).
On 5 November 2010, he flew a new version of his jet-powered flight system and successfully performed 2 aerial loops before landing via parachute. He launched from a hot air balloon piloted by Brian Jones
at 2,400 meters (7,900 feet) and flew a total of 18 minutes before landing. The wingspan of Rossy's latest craft has been reduced to 2m.
On 7 May 2011, Rossy flew across the Grand Canyon
in Arizona
, after the United States Federal Aviation Administration
classified his flight system as an aircraft, waived the normal 25 to 40 hours of flight testing time, and granted him permission to perform the flight.
Yves served as a fighter pilot in the Swiss Air Force
, flying Dassault Mirage III
s, Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs and Hawker Hunter
s. He flew Boeing 747
s for Swissair
. , he was flying for Swiss International Air Lines
.
He was recently featured on an episode of Stan Lee's Superhumans
.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
pilot, inventor and aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
enthusiast. He is the first person to achieve sustained human flight using a jet
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
-powered fixed wing strapped to his back. This jet pack
Jet pack
Jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack, and similar names are various types of devices, usually worn on the back, that are propelled by jets of escaping gases so as to allow a single user to fly....
has led to his being nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
d Jet Man, Rocket Man and Fusion Man.
Life and works
Rossy developed and built a system comprising a back pack with semi-rigid aeroplane-type carbon-fiber wings with a span of about 2.4 metres (7.9 ft), powered by four attached Jet-Cat P200 jet engineJet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
s modified from large-model, kerosene fueled, aircraft engines. His first flight occurred in November 2006 in Bex
Bex
Bex is a municipality in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland, located in the district of Aigle. It is a few miles south of its sister town municipality of Aigle.-The Bex Salt Mine:Bex is the site of a famous salt mine....
, lasting nearly six minutes and nine seconds. Yves later successfully flew across the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
on 26 September 2008 in 9 minutes 7 seconds, reaching a speed of 299 km/h (186 mph) during the crossing
Later in 2008, he made a flight over the Alps, reaching a top descent speed of 304 km/h (189 mph) and an average speed of 124 mph.
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
, hoping to be the first person to fly between two continents using a jetpack. He leapt from a small plane about 1,950 m (6,500 ft) above Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
in the direction of Atlanterra in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The flight was expected to take about a quarter of an hour but, due to strong winds and banks of cloud, Rossy ditched into the sea, to be picked up ten minutes later by his support helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
3 miles from the Spanish coast. He was flown to a hospital in Jerez, and later released unhurt. The Spanish Coast Guard
Coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...
later retrieved the jetpack (which had a parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
and a float).
On 5 November 2010, he flew a new version of his jet-powered flight system and successfully performed 2 aerial loops before landing via parachute. He launched from a hot air balloon piloted by Brian Jones
Brian Jones (aeronaut)
Brian Jones is an English balloonist.Brian Jones, along with Bertrand Piccard, co-piloted the first successful uninterrupted circumnavigation of the world on board the balloon Breitling Orbiter 3...
at 2,400 meters (7,900 feet) and flew a total of 18 minutes before landing. The wingspan of Rossy's latest craft has been reduced to 2m.
On 7 May 2011, Rossy flew across the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, after the United States Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
classified his flight system as an aircraft, waived the normal 25 to 40 hours of flight testing time, and granted him permission to perform the flight.
Yves served as a fighter pilot in the Swiss Air Force
Swiss Air Force
The Swiss Air Force is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on July 31, 1914, as part of the Army and as of January 1966 an independent service.In peacetime, Dübendorf is the operational Air Force HQ...
, flying Dassault Mirage III
Dassault Mirage III
The Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the late 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. It was a successful fighter aircraft, being sold to many air forces around the world and remaining in production for over a decade...
s, Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs and Hawker Hunter
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...
s. He flew Boeing 747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
s for Swissair
Swissair
Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
. , he was flying for Swiss International Air Lines
Swiss International Air Lines
Swiss International Air Lines AG is the principal airline of Switzerland operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Its main hub is Zurich Airport...
.
He was recently featured on an episode of Stan Lee's Superhumans
Stan Lee's Superhumans
Stan Lee's Superhumans is a documentary television series that debuted August 5, 2010 on History. It is hosted by comic book superhero creator Stan Lee and follows contortionist Daniel Browning Smith, "the most flexible man in the world", as he searches the globe for real-life superhumans – people...
.
See also
- Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi
- Felix BaumgartnerFelix BaumgartnerFelix Baumgartner is a skydiver and a BASE jumper. He is renowned for the particularly dangerous nature of the stunts he has performed during his career...
- Wingsuit flyingWingsuit flyingWingsuit flying is the sport of flying the human body through the air using a special jumpsuit, called a wingsuit, which adds surface area to the human body to enable a significant increase in lift. Modern wingsuits, first developed in the late 1990s, create the surface area with fabric between the...
- Gryphon (parachute system)Gryphon (parachute system)The Gryphon is a military wingpack that currently allows paratroopers to exit an aircraft at an altitude of 10 kilometres, then fly 40 kilometres while carrying up to 100 kilograms of equipment...
External links
- Website of Jet Man
- Video
- Clips of the flight (requires login)