Rocketman
flies over Alps with jet-pack strapped to his back
http://www.nagalandpost.com/entertainmentdesc.asp?sectionid=59974
Some people go fishing on their day off. Yves Rossy likes to jump out of a
small plane with a pair of jet-powered wings on his back and loop the loop
above the Swiss Alps.
The self-built contraption took the former fighter pilot five years to build
and perfect - and on Wednesday he gave it its maiden flight.
Stepping out of an aircraft at 7,500ft, Rossy unfolded the 10ft rigid wings
strapped to his back as he plummeted earthwards.
Passing from freefall into a gentle glide, he triggered the four jet turbines
and accelerated to 190mph above the mountaintops.
Steering with his body, Rossy dived, turned and soared again, flying what
appeared to be effortless loops from one side of the Rhone valley to the other.
At times he climbed 2,600ft before diving again, leaving a trail of
special-effects smoke in his wake.
After one last wave to the watching crowd, Rossy dipped his wings as he
prepared for the piece de resistance, a manoeuvre he hadn't tried before...He
flipped onto his back and levelled out again, executing a perfect 360-degree
roll that even a bird would find impossible.
"It's like a second skin," Rossy said later after landing on the shores of
Lake Geneva.
"If I turn to the left, I fly left. If I nudge to the right, I go right."
With his first big test under his belt, Rossy, 48, is ready for bigger
challenges: he plans to cross the English Channel later this year, before
attempting to fly through the Grand Canyon.
To do this, he will have to fit more powerful jets to allow for greater
manoeuvring.
The four Germanbuilt model aircraft engines he currently uses provide 200lb of
thrust each, enough to enable the 110lb foldable carbon wings, and Rossy in his
120lb flying suit, to climb at 200ft a minute.
"Physically, it's absolutely no stress," Rossy said.
Scenery: Yves Rossy said he had no time to enjoy the view or scenery
"It's like being on a motorbike. But I have to focus on relaxing, because if I
show any tension, I start to swing around."
Should things go wrong there's always a yellow handle to jettison the wings
and unfold a back-up parachute.
"I've had plenty of "whoops" moments," he said.
Rossy says his form of human flight will, for now, remain the preserve of very
few.
The cost and effort involved are simply too high for it to be produced
commercially, he says.
So far, Rossy and his sponsors have poured more than £123,000 and countless
hours into building the device.
But, he believes similar jet-powered wings will one day be more widely
available to experienced parachutists.
That is, if they don't mind missing out on the breathtaking panorama unfolding
above the Swiss Alps. "I am concentrating so hard, I don't really enjoy the
view," Rossy said.
http://www.nagalandpost.com/entertainmentdesc.asp?sectionid=59974
Umesh Sharma
Washington D.C.
1-202-215-4328 [Cell]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)
www.gse.harvard.edu/iep (where the above 2 are used )
http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/
http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
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