The Web Aviation blog has recently noted that Yves Rossy, a Swiss engineer and aviator who has been nicknamed the “JetMan,” will (on May 6) fly across the Grand Canyon on a jet pack. Rossy is the first human to achieve sustained human flight using the power of a jet pack that he controls with his body. Already he has used his jet pack to fly across the Geneva river, the Alps, the English Channel and partially across the Strait of Gibraltar where he was forced to ditch (unharmed) into the ocean due to poor weather.
The jet pack itself was designed by him and straps onto his body just like a normal backpack. Its powered by 4 jet engines that were modified from model aircraft engines that were then attached to the undersides of semi-rigid carbon fibre wings. However, the engines are not powerful enough to allow him to take off from the ground on his own and hence, he must takeoff from onboard a plane.
For steering, Rossy uses his body to act as a rudder and during past flights, he has managed to reach speeds of up to 304 km/h (189 mph). In other words, Rossy has plenty of courage to just strap a jet pack on and then fly across rivers, mountains and open water. Hence, we wish the JetMan the best of luck for his Friday jet pack flight across the Grand Canyon.
