 |
Place your cursor over the slideshow for captions. |
Rossy used an 8–foot–long wing that is powered by four small jet engines. The engines work the same way as larger engines that power airplanes. They “make noise, but not too much, like a small plane,” Rossy told Weekly Reader. With the wing strapped to his back, Rossy can speed through the air as fast as 186 miles per hour. He wears a special heat–resistant suit to protect himself from the hot engines.
During Rossy’s recent flight over the Swiss Alps, he showed off his high-flying talents. With the wing strapped to his back, he jumped out of a plane at an altitude of over 8,000 feet. Then he unfolded the wing and started soaring. Using his body to steer, Rossy did loops, dives, and figure eights. During some loops, he flew about 2,600 feet in the air. He even did a 360–degree roll. Rossy’s bird–like adventure lasted about five minutes. Then he folded in the wing tips and parachuted to land.
|
The flight may have been short, but Rossy and his team spent a lot of time preparing for it. The wing cost about $285,000 to engineer, and Rossy trained for five years to be able to fly it. He has been a pilot for more than two decades. He also has had a lot of practice in other air sports, including hang gliding and skydiving. Rossy has made more than 1,100 parachute jumps.
His Alps adventure is just the beginning, Rossy says. He plans to use his special wing to fly across the English Channel later this year. The longer trip will require more fuel, so Rossy and his team are busy figuring out how to add more fuel to the engines without making the wing too heavy for Rossy to balance. Once Rossy crosses the Channel, he hopes to tackle a much rockier challenge—the Grand Canyon!
Back to Top
Subscribe Now
RSS