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This Day, That Year – September 26

Mon 26 Sep 2022    
EcoBalance
| 2 min read

This day in history we feature Yves Rossy. He was first person to fly a jet engine-powered wing across the English Channel on this day in 2008.

Trivia – Yves Rossy

Yves Rossy (born 27 August 1959) is a Swiss military-trained pilot and an aviation enthusiast. He is known as the inventor of a series of experimental individual jet packs, the latest using carbon-fiber wings for flight. Often referred to as “Jetman”, Rossy has sometimes tested and presented new versions of his jetpacks in high-profile events staged around the world. He served as a fighter pilot in the Swiss Air Force, where he flew Dassault Mirage IIIs, Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs, and Hawker Hunters. He piloted Boeing 747s for Swissair, and later for Swiss International Air Lines. Rossy developed and built a wingsuit system comprising a backpack equipped with semi-rigid aeroplane-type carbon-fiber wings—with a span of about 2.4 metres—powered by four Jetcat P400 jet engines, modified from large kerosene-fueled model aircraft engines. This has led to him being referred to in the press by various monikers, such as The Airman, Rocketman, Fusionman, and—most commonly—Jetman.

Related read – French ‘Jetman’ killed in freak training accident in Dubai

On 26 September 2008, jumping from a Pilatus Porter at an altitude of 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) over Calais, France, Rossy crossed the English Channel with a single jet-powered wing strapped on his back, wearing only a helmet and a flight suit for protection. Reaching speeds of up to 190 kilometres per hour (120 mph), he made the 35 km flight to England in 13 minutes, where he deployed his parachute and landed in Dover becoming the first person to cross the Channel in this manner. Rossy was featured on an episode of Stan Lee’s Superhumans. He has appeared on the BBC’s Top Gear, where he raced Richard Hammond and Toni Gardemeister. Rossy was a main attraction at the 2013 Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Fly-In, America’s largest fly-in. Rossy was also featured (not in person) in the South Australian Primary School’s Music Festival in 2014, when the theme of the Festival was flight. The song, ‘Jetman’, was written by Paul Jarman about Yves Rossy.

Source – Wikipedia

This day in history –


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