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Is it a bird? Is it a plane?
14/05/2008 21:18 - (SA)
Bex, Switzerland - Icarus crashed and burned when he flew too close to the sun but a modern-day Swiss adventurer had a happier landing on Wednesday after he tested his new jet-powered "wing".
Yves Rossy, the self-styled "Fusionman", leapt into the skies 2 500 metres above the small town of Bex in western Switzerland clad in his new carbon wing with which he performed various manoeuvres for five minutes before landing with the aid of a parachute.
His "wing" was 2.5 metres in diameter and came with four tiny jets which were actually lit inside the plane just before he jumped.
Once in full flight, Rossy could reach speeds of up to 300km/h but he could only stay in the air for a maximum of ten minutes due to the small fuel capacity of his jets.
Rossy, a 48-year-old former air force pilot who now worked for the airline Swiss, first unveiled his design in 2004.
It was not always an easy ride though - during one jump in 2005 he lost control of his wing and did not open his parachute until he was just 500 metres above ground.
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