io9
Known as Fusion Man, he's the Swiss Eval Knieval of the air, and yesterday he plunged to earth 7500 feet from an airplane at over 180 miles an hour, buoyed only by four jets strapped to his back. But in reality, he's just a pilot named Yves Rossi who built the jet wings himself — to the tune of about $258,000 dollars. (He had a little help from sponsors.) Want to see it in full video action?
Here's a video of the flight, with dreamy background music provided by our sister site Gizmodo. I would have done something a little more death metal, but actually the pop works OK too. Says The Register about the commercial potential of this jetpack:
Says The Register about the commercial potential of this jetpack:Rossy's backpack jetwings won't be hitting the shops soon, though. The only controls or instruments are a throttle and an audible altimeter - the wing is steered using the body, and given his long history of crackups this plainly isn't easy even for Rossy. A flameproof suit is necessary to avoid leg burns from the jet exhaust, too. The only way of launching is to jump from a (great) height. Landing is by folding the wings and parachuting down - yet more skills to be mastered. (The latest wing has its own landing chute which deploys if it has to be jettisoned, which should ease the future development path somewhat).Next, Rossy claims, he'll zoom 22 miles across the English Channel. Top image by Stephanie Thomet, via The Register.The main application would seem to be stunts like yesterday's - or perhaps for certain highly unusual/barmy special-forces missions. Spelco, a military parachute company in Germany, is working on its "Gryphon" backpack deltaplane - an easier to operate, low-radar-signature, long-ranging version of Rossy's concept.
Swiss birdman in Alpine backpack [The Register]
Comments
I love the future.
does it come with a diaper for when i shit my pants?
Didn't Cobra have one of these back in the late 80s?
BOO! That's a glider you can't fool me Eval Knieval with your Swiss Trickery.
If it can't take off and land on it's own and can't get me from my front yard to my hospital's roof it's not a jet pack!
The concept is def. cool but if you need a plane to get up and a parachute to land where's the benefit since most paratroopers don't come right down on top of their targets but walk in from farther out.
@CMG: Two points!
You know who he looks like?
That one Centurion from back in the old days, that was the Air Centurion.
I guess his name was Ace McCloud, which is probably appropriate for a guy with a rocket on his back.
[en.wikipedia.org]
Holy crap.
What's the duration on this gadget? Do you have to carry around a several hundred pounds of fuel to fly around for more than a minute?
Centurions!
We need some high-put underwater packs, or exoskeleton feature with wheels next.
@corpore-metal: That's always the inherent problem with these gadgets, like the jet pack and this personal wing. Of course this looks like it could carry a lot more fuel, but still the consumption rate mus be pretty high, since people aren't very aerodynamic.
@braak: Didn't the G.I. Joe force have something similar? I seem to remember them having something like delta-wing flying units they'd use to fly into places.
@Belabras: @NefariousNewt:
Just add a machine gun and two missiles, and you've got the Cobra C.L.A.W.:
[www.yojoe.com]
"Never mind the jetpack." Where's my nanotech cyberbrain?
Actually this is pretty cool. I expect the same material advances that will make flying cars feasible will do the same for this. The engines will need a lot more efficiency though.
Commando Cody lives!!!!
Wooot!!!
If you know the reference, we can be BFF Forever.
Thing looks like a one night stand with the Human Torch.
...Keep it up and you'll go down in flames.
He reminds me of Major Hawk Masterson. Power On!
@CMG: Nope, its a mini-toilet, complete with blue toilet water, strapped directly to your anus, and then vented out the bottom of you shoe.
Its great for when you want to Pigeon someones freshly washed car.
@Loserface: I watched Cody do his stuff back in the early '50s. When were those cliffhangers made?
I heard that some rich guy named Wayne has already ordered three of them...
@Sparkstalker:
That's the thing. Nice Joe-fu sir.
looks like we have a fancy new gadget for the opening sequence of the next James Bond movie...
@Luger-Axhandle: Don't know, I didn't catch up to them till the early 70's, thanks to a local TV station.
@mistermac2000: I would bet money on that. Iron Bond.
Armitage will eventually crash one of those things in the Soviet Union, be the only one to escape with his life, then, during treatment, be surreptitiously taken over by Wintermute ...
I need this for my commute.
@Luger-Axhandle: My dad brought up on those serials. I heart them so.
That first shot definitely looks like something that could be out of the forthcoming GI Joe movie. Looks very cool, but uber-pricey, and I'd hate to wonder how much proper training costs.
he looks like a micronaut.
Freakin' sweet.
@Torley:
Proper training? This is new stuff. You figure it out as you go.
@russdanger: The batwing version?
*Prepares Scalpel*
How many organs do I need to cut out to have that?
@Evil Tortie's Mom: @Loserface: Don't ask me for a plot synopsis. It was too long ago. I enjoyed "The Rocketeer" because of the direct rip-offs of Commando Cody "technology".
I can see one useful application of this way down the road when it's a bit more developed. Paratroopers land and march in to avoid the inconvenience of being used for target practice on the way down. With a good enough angle of approach this would decrease time from deployment to engagement.
TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!
In the future, everybody will wear Nomex pants.
At no point did it seem like he was able to pull back up, it looked like he was going downwards the entire time. LAME.
More information here.
[www.amny.com]
He was able to perform acrobatics.
two thousand and eight!
Homer: Hey there, blimpy boy, flying through the sky so fancy free... :)
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