'Jetman' Rossy Flies Above the Grand Canyon 90
cylonlover writes "Yves Rossy, the former Swiss jet fighter pilot better known as Jetman, flew over the Grand Canyon last Saturday (May 7th) using his wearable jet-propelled wing. It was the first time he has flown with the device in North America, having previously used it to cross the English Channel, perform an aerial loop, fly in formation with stunt planes, and to unsuccessfully attempt traversing a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean between Morocco and Spain."
Don't bother with the video (Score:2, Informative)
It's a boring fluff piece montage with horrible editing.. The flight doesn't start before half way in... and with dull music instead of ambient audio
Funny, I was just watching an old documentary. (Score:5, Informative)
This is funny, I was just watching an old documentary about him. Just before he flew across the English channel, he realized in a wind tunnel that his wings were unbalanced so he would always starts an endless looping that leads to a crash on the same side. He learned to recuperate from this anyways. Amazingly, he said that he didn't have time to rebalance his wings before the English channel crossing so he did it as is.
This guy is serious business. Another poster was unsatisfied because he needs to be launched from a plane or helicopter. Believe me, it is a must with his setup. Also, he can't land and he uses a parachute to land. His setup involves only a wing set and a turbine. There is no other controls but the turbine speed. All directional control is done with his body.
Re:ho hum, personal jet propulsion (Score:4, Informative)