Vincent Reffet
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Vincent Reffet | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 September 1984 |
| Died | 17 November 2020 (aged 36) |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation(s) | Skydiver, BASE jumper |
| Employer | Jetman Dubai |
Vincent Reffet (15 September 1984 — 17 November 2020)[1][2][3][4] was a French BASE jumper (extreme sports athlete), skydiver and wingsuit flyer.
Biography
Career
Vincent Reffet was a professional parachutist. He completed 17,000 parachute jumps and 1400 BASE jumps. He began wingsuit flying in 2002. He was a parachute instructor, "Jetman" pilot, licensed private pilot, wind tunnel instructor (totaling 1000 hours), and pioneer and instructor in speed riding.[1]
Awards
In 2004, Reffet won the French freefly championship in Vannes and the world free-fly championship in Boituva, Brazil,[1] teamed with fellow Frenchman Fred Fugen.[5]
The "Soul Flyers" free-fly team of Reffet and Fred Fugen:
- won the 2005 World Games in Duisburg, Germany, and the 2005 World Cup in Eloy, Arizona, United States;
- won the 2006 World Championship in Gera, Germany;
- won the 2008 World Championship in Maubeuge, France.[1][5]
In 2009, Reffet and Fugen won the free-fly World Games in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.[1][5]
On 21 April 2014, Reffet and Fugen broke the Guinness World Record for highest BASE jump from a building, jumping 828 metres (2,717 ft) from the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Reffet and Fugen conducted the jump with permission from the authorities and support from several sponsors. The two men jumped from a specially designed ramp constructed at the top of the building.[6]
On 13 October 2015, Reffet and Yves Rossy flew in formation with an Emirates Airbus A380 over Dubai.[1][7]
Death
On 17 November 2020, Reffet died in a training accident in Dubai.[2][3][4] The accident occurred during a motorized rigid wing flight.[8][9]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Vince Reffet - Soul Flyers" (in French). Soul Flyers. 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ a b "Vincent Reffet: French 'Jetman' dies in training accident". BBC. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ a b Guy, Jack (18 November 2020). "Vince Reffet, 'Jetman' pilot, dies in training accident in Dubai". Cable News Network. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ a b Kwai, Isabella (18 November 2020). "'Jetman' Who Flew Beside a Plane Dies While Training in Dubai". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ a b c "Fred Fugen - Soul Flyers" (in French). Soul Flyers. 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Red Bullwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Evon, Dan (6 November 2015). "Fly Me to Dubai". Snopes Media Group Inc. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ "Vince..." Paramag (in French). 17 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ Girard, Vincent (17 November 2020). "Breaking news : décès du Soul Flyers Vince Reffet". The Rider Post (in French). Retrieved 19 November 2020.
