Video: Jetman Adds Aerobatics To His Bag Of Tricks
Yves Rossy has figured out that many of us are suckers for a story about people trying to fly like the birds. Granted there aren’t many birds with four jet engines strapped to their wings, but what we lack in wings and the right muscles, we make up for with the brains to build a carbon fiber wing with miniature jet engines.
Rossy recently made a performance leap with his jet powered backpack wing after performing loops over the Swiss countryside. After stepping off of the Esprit Breitling Orbiter hot air balloon piloted by world record setting balloonist Brian Jones, Rossy managed to stabilize his flight, fire up the four jet engines and proceed to perform a short aerobatic show before parachuting back to the ground.
The flight comes two years after Rossy made headlines after flying his jet powered wing across the English Channel. A recent attempt to cross the Strait of Gibraltar failed, but the former military pilot says the aerobatic flight went very well.
“It was fantastic! The flight went well, despite a little problem when starting my engines. I was able to do my two loopings and I am very happy!”
The loops were performed with a new, shorter wing spanning only two meters. The wing, half a meter shorter than the previous model, provides greater stability according to Rossy.
The entire setup, including the jet engines, weights about 120 pounds with just under eight gallons of jet fuel on board. During the 10 minutes of flight time, Rossy only uses his body to steer the wing, including the loops.
We haven’t heard from Rossy, but I’m sure there are many airshows that would like to see a Jetman aerobatic routine in front of a crowd. And the military is probably watching his progress as well.
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Photo/Video: Breitling/Yves Rossy
Fuente: Autopia
