Rocket man reaches 186mph over Swiss Alps with jet-powered wings

By Michelle Ruhfass • August 28, 2008

Rocket Man

Is it a bird, is it a plane… Former fighter pilot Yves Rossy strapped on a pair of self-made jet powered wings in the Swiss Alps recently and was able to reach speeds of 186mph from above.

After climbing aboard an airplane that dropped him from 7,500 feet, Rossy did a bit of a free fall before kicking in the the kerosene fueled wings. The 8 foot self-made wings allowed Rossy to dive, turn and soar high above the Swiss crowd. The pilot even rose to 2,600 feet before descending.

“It’s like a second skin,” he later told reporters. “If I turn to the left, I fly left. If I nudge to the right, I go right.”

To impress the girls, he performed one last manuever - a 360 degree roll that he had never tried before. Next on Rossy’s list: to cross the English Channel with the jet-powered wings.

[via MSNBC]

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