Icarus famously said that 'all limits are self-imposed'. But for Yves Rossy, the sky is the only limit with his Jet Man contraption (Stephanie Thomet/Reuters)
Icarus famously said that 'all limits are self-imposed'. But for Yves Rossy, the sky is the only limit with his Jet Man contraption (Stephanie Thomet/Reuters)
--I would venture a guess that this guy's life expectancy is about the same as the time to his next flight---
It needs some missiles.
There is a rule of thumb in the boating world. You shouldn't venture out onto the waters if you can't swim.
Why does this not apply to flight?
I'm proud to obey the laws of gravity :)!!!
I suspect this will turn out to be a hoax. Where the heck is his landing gear, for starters?
Think John Denver or John Kennedy, Jr. here.
OH sure, there it is attached to his backside. I'm sure he uses it for rudder and elevator, too.
Interesting photo. How was it taken, you think? Helicopter and telefoto lens?
Former hang glider pilot bump. I guess I am just jealous.
Look! Up in he sky!
Where?
He was there a moment ago...
What's that smoke coming from that hill?
TO INFINITY...AND BEYOND!
:)
The reason I'm skeptical, besides the obvious, is that he has maybe twenty square feet of wing area there. With a wing loading of more than ten pounds per square foot, he would need at least 100+ MPH to take off. Then there is the problem of drag with his body hanging out in the breeze. Not likely!
I wondered how he was going to take care of landing. All in all, interesting, scary, and better he than me.
This is not totally unbelievable. It looks like a modified hang glider
I flew ultralights in various forms for 15 years - this guy is nuts.
Woah...some major brass cojones...
Ancient Greece Daedalus and Icarus, his son, escape from Crete with feather wings. Icarus falls and dies
(They know this is a myth, right?)
1485 Leonardo da Vinci designs Ornithopter, a bird-like flying machine, and a parachute. Neither tested
1783 Sebastien Lenormand of France invents first successful parachute
1896 Otto Lilienthal of Germany killed after making successful hops with bird-like glider
1903 Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
(I wonder what country these guys are from?)
1951 Francis Rogallo of Nasa invents flexible wing later used for hang-gliding
(I've never heard of this country, odd.)
1980s power added to create microlight aircraft
July 2003 Felix Baumgartner of Austria parachutes to land at Calais after flying across English Channel in a wing suit
November 2006 Yves Rossy flies for six minutes over the Swiss Alps
He joined the jet set!
Cheers!
Ping.