Jet Man! This is the coolest invention EVER.

[Jack22]

This guy is going to attempt to cross the English Channel using a jet-powered wing strapped to his back.

Jet Man Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-66AcTo9TU)

OK, that's it: no more guns; my cash will be saved to buy one of these jet wing things.

I MUST HAVE IT. I MUST!

Tonight at 9:00 EDT the National Geographic Channel will do an hour show on this guy.

[Jack22]

The show about this guy was postponed until tomorrow @ 9:00. Not sure whether it was because the bad weather over the Channel delayed his flight, or because of the President's speech.

http://engineering.curiouscatblog.net/images/jetman.jpg

[DrMaxit]

Oh man what I would do to be that guy for a week. That is.. AWESOME. Has to be relaxing and peaceful in a way... Good post man.

--Chuck

[Javelin]

That just looks like so much fun!

[goldenlight]

I wonder what the top speed, and range (or flight duration) is for that jet wing.

Having 4 engines to produce enough thrust to keep that small wing flying must consume a LOT of fuel.

I also wonder how much fuel fits inside that relatively small wing.

Looks like a LOT of fun....except for landing....!!

I'd want to 'land' on a body of water. I think anything else would just about guarantee broken bones and/or an undignified death.

[Jack22]

http://www.ananova.com/images/web/1429272.jpg

Link to story. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080926/ts_afp/franceswitzerlandbritainaviationoffbeat_080926135353)


Jet-powered Swiss adventurer crosses English Channel

by Guy Jackson2 hours, 47 minutes ago

Swiss adventurer Yves Rossy made history Friday by flying across the English Channel from France using only a jet-powered wing.

The 49-year-old pilot touched down in a field near a lighthouse on the white cliffs of Dover after completing the 35-kilometre (22-mile) journey over one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

"It was great. I feel a lot more calm now than before the flight. It was perfect conditions," he said with a big grin, after being mobbed by journalists shortly after his arrival.

With the carbon wing strapped to his back, Rossy had leapt out of a small plane at an altitude of 2,500 metres over the French coast before jetting off at speeds of more than 200 kilometres per hour.

Against a backdrop of picture-perfect blue skies, he ended his adventure around ten minutes later by cutting his engines and deploying a green and blue parachute at an altitude of some 1,500 metres over the English coast.

The Swiss daredevil -- a pilot with Swiss International Air Lines -- was visibly ecstatic as he was helped out of the wing structure into which he had been strapped for the flight.

"I would like to say thank you to all the people who helped me. I am the only one who has flown across the channel this way, but so many people helped me do it," he told journalists, staggering across the ploughed field.
Stephane Marmier, a skydiver and part of the support team, told AFP the flight had gone without a hitch.

"He's experienced a little bit of air turbulence, but otherwise it was the perfect flight. He's here in England, and that's what counts. We are delighted," he said.

Rossy had never flown for longer than ten minutes and had to calibrate his equipment and weight to perfection since even the addition of a few hundred grammes would have affected his flying ability.

His trip was broadcast live by two aircraft and two helicopters which flew alongside him across the channel.

Rossy, who calls himself FusionMan, was originally scheduled to make the flight Wednesday, but postponed it twice due to bad weather.

In 2004, he became the first man to fly with jet-powered wings.

He was aiming to trace the route of French inventor Louis Bleriot, who became the first person to fly across the English Channel in a plane 99 years ago, taking 37 minutes for the trip.

Speaking after his flight, he added: "I hope that many people will have the opportunity to fly like this. I am full of hope that there will be many in the future."

[tackleberry65]

Doesn't Duffman have a rig similar to this?

[Jack22]

I know Buzz Lightyear does . . .

[chowchow]

Super Man would be amazed.

[LinuxKnight]

Pretty awesome.

BTW he landed by way of parachute, which I suppose makes the most sense.

This thing doesn't look as steerable or thrust variable as the Rocketeer's pack :)
(well Rocketeer used a rudder-helmet, and somehow had flame retardant jodhpurs in the '30s... but anyway)

[Tennessee Slim]

Meh, ...it won't be really cool until he figures how to land it on a runway.

[RCP]

Hmmm.......I can see some military applications for this in the future

[Tennessee Slim]

A 60 minute TV show to cover 10 minutes of action.



Kinda like a baseball game, huh?

[JimBianchi]

The missing Wright Brother!