Source: blogywoodbabes.blogspot.com
This is like the most dangers thing I have ever seen. Swiss professional pilot Yves Rossy, the first man in the world to fly with fitted jet fuel powered wings strapped to his back, during his first official demonstration. Rossy will attempt to fly from Calais in northern France to Douvres, England, with his jet fuel powered wings. The "Jet-Men" successfully jumped out of a plane over the Alps using a new improved version of his jet propelled hang-glider. Yves Rossy has spent five years training for the event and was helped by four jet engines Watch the videos and click on the pictures to enlarge.
Weather permitting, Yves Rossy - also known as Jet Man - will step out of a light plane more than 2,500 meters above Calais, France.
Relying entirely on his own body to steer, he will open his wing, flick on his four tiny jets and rocket over the 22-mile sea stretch to Dover in about 12 minutes at speeds of up to 187 miles per hour.
He will uses a motorcycle grip to control thrust.
If he successfully parachutes down on British soil, he will become the first person in history to have carried out a solo, jet- propelled flight from Dover to Calais, retracing the route – albeit at far higher velocity - of French aviator Louis Bleriot, the first person to cross the Channel in an aeroplane 99 years ago.
The 47-year old, whose day job is flying passengers for Swiss, the national airline, has a carbon composite-wing carrying four kerosene-burning jet turbines adapted from jets for model aircraft and unmanned military drones.
In all, the contraption weighs 55 kilograms when loaded with fuel.
He has taken six years to develop his jet wing and has been practising for months, giving a stunning aerodynamic display in May, when he performed figure of eights high above the Alps.
As well as a crash helmet, he will wear a heat-proof suit resembling those worn by Formula One drivers to protect him from the scorching heat of the engines, whose temperature is kept from overheating by the high wind and altitude.
His daring attempt can be watched live, as cameras have been installed into the launch plane and on a helicopter following him.
If all goes well, he hopes to create more powerful engines and a lighter wing that will enable him to climb vertically like a fighter jet and take off from the ground.
Although his current device is a prototype, he ultimately hopes to market his Jet Man wing to flying enthusiasts at a similar price to a microlight aircraft.
The Swiss jet-man attempting an historic bid to jet across the Channel remained grounded today as low cloud made him look more like a turkey than an eagle.
Yves Rossy, who had hoped to be the first person to fly from Calais to Dover using a jet-powered carbon-fibre wing, said that it would be too risky to attempt to navigate through cloud.
"The visibility is not so good that I can see," he said.
"In these conditions it is too dangerous. I have only one life and I don't want to lose it. I follow my little bees in my body and say no."
The announcement followed a sudden chill in the air as dark clouds gathered over the Channel, prompting a collective groan from scores of local dignataries and assembled journalists.
Mr Rossy called off his flight minutes before he was due to depart when his lookout in Dover told him that "something black is coming".
He decided that the dark clouds passing overhead meant that he was in danger of getting lost over the Channel and being forced to ditch in cold water without a wetsuit to protect him.
He will decide at 6pm today whether the weather forecast is good enough to make an attempt tomorrow. The outlook is promising, he said. He is also prepared to wait until Saturday or Sunday, but he must return to work on Monday to fly SWISS passengers to Egypt.
The pilot said that he aborted as his wings were being filled with fuel. "The risk is that I lose navigation, because I navigate only with my eyes and the sun. If I have a problem suddenly I'm alone somewhere in the cloud. I'm not disappointed. I would be disappointed to be in the water now and (find) tomorrow it is perfect blue sky."
Yves Rossy (born August 27, 1959) is a Swiss pilot, inventor and aviation enthusiast. He is both the first person to build and the first person successfully to fly a jet engine-powered wing strapped to the back. The flight occurred in November 2006 in Bex, lasting nearly six minutes. While work with jet packs to propel humans dates back as far as World War II, his is the first one to have wings.
Yves has served as a fighter pilot in the Swiss Air Force, flying Dassault Mirage IIIs, Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs and Hawker Hunters. He also flew Boeing 747s for Swissair and now pilots an Airbus for Swiss International Air Lines. blogywoodbabes.blogspot.com
