Yves Rossy
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| Yves Rossy | |
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| Full name | Yves Rossy |
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| Lived | 27 August 1959 - |
| Nationality |  Swiss |
| Aviation | |
| Known for | first person to fly a jet engine-powered wing |
| Air Force | Swiss Air Force |
Yves Rossy (born 27 August 1959) is a Swiss pilot, inventor and aviation enthusiast. He is nicknamed Jet Man and Fusion Man for being the first person to achieve sustained human flight using a jet-powered fixed wing strapped to his back (see Jet pack#Yves Rossy's jetpack for more details).
Rossy developed and built a system comprising a back pack with rigid aeroplane-type carbon-fiber wings with a span of about 2.4 metres (7.9 ft), powered by four attached jet engines modified from model aircraft engines. His first flight[citation needed] occurred in November 2006 in Bex, lasting nearly six minutes. Yves later successfully flew across the English Channel on 26 September 2008 in under 10 minutes[1] (9 minutes 7 seconds[2]), reaching a speed of 125 mph during the crossing[3]
Later in 2008 he made a flight over the Alps reaching a top speed of 189mph. [1] [2]
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 A320 for Swiss International Air Lines.
[edit] See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yves Rossi |
 External images |
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Yves Rossy[4] |
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In flight[5] |
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Wing suit[6] |
[edit] References
- ^ Pilot completes jetpack challenge
- ^ Buzz Flight-here!, "The Sun", 30-Sep-2008.
- ^ Rocket man flies on jet-powered wings. Former fighter pilot reaches 186 miles an hour during first public flight
- ^ Jet Man Yves Rossy blasts across the sky in Spain www.adventureblog.org, 23 March 2007, accessed 15 October 2008
- ^ It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s Yves Rossy! www.acceleratingfuture.com, 19 May 2008, accessed 15 October 2008
- ^ Swiss Jetpack (Crazy Pilot) blogs.iht.com, 22 March 2007, accessed 15 October 2008
[edit] External links
- http://natgeoadventure.tv/uk/Show.aspx?Id=266 Clips of the flight
