Video: Yves Rossy, Swiss Jet-Man, flied solo over English Channel on homemade wing! The tape above live from MSNBC TodayShow shows the Switzerland daredevil Yves Rossy in heat-resistant suit crossed the English Channel by being strapped to a homemade jet-propelled wing earlier today. The 22-mile trip from Calais in France to Dove in England called as a fabulous stunt by someone cost Rossy about 10 minutes. Excerpts from MSNBC:
Jetman Yves Rrossy flying photo
Yves Rossy leapt from a plane at more than 8,800 feet . Rossy passed over a thin strip of land in front of South Foreland lighthouse [in Dove], looped over onlookers and opened his parachute, his wings still strapped to his back. [...]
The trip across the Channel is meant to trace the route of French aviator Louis Bleriot, the first person to cross in an airplane 99 years ago. [...]
The carbon composite-wing weighs about 121 pounds when loaded with fuel, and carried four kerosene-burning jet turbines that kept him aloft. The wing had no steering devices — Rossy moved his body to control its movements.
He wore a heat-resistant suit similar to that worn by firefighters and racing drivers to protect him from the heat of the turbines. The cooling effect of the wind and high altitude also prevented him from getting too hot.
Mark Dale, the senior technical officer for the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, described Rossy’s flight as a “fabulous stunt.”
Guys, don’t try flying on kerosene-powered turbines wings at your home.
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