1. Yves Rossy was born on 27 August 1959 and is a Swiss military-trained pilot and an aviation enthusiast.
21 Facts About Yves Rossy
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Yves Rossy is known as the inventor of a series of experimental individual jet packs, the latest using carbon-fiber wings for flight.
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Yves Rossy was born in the Swiss canton of Neuchatel in 1959.
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Yves Rossy served as a fighter pilot in the Swiss Air Force, where he flew Dassault Mirage IIIs, Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs, and Hawker Hunters.
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Yves Rossy piloted Boeing 747s for Swissair, and later for Swiss International Air Lines.
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In December 2006 Yves Rossy became the first to successfully fly horizontally for six minutes using four jet engines and wings strapped on his back.
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Yves Rossy was quoted as saying: "The idea is to have fun, not to kill yourself".
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Since 2007 Yves Rossy has conducted some of his flight tests from a private airfield, Skydive Empuriabrava, in Empuriabrava, Spain.
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On 26 September 2008, jumping from a Pilatus Porter at an altitude of 2,500 metres over Calais, France, Yves 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.
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In November 2009 Yves Rossy attempted a crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar, hoping to be the first person to fly between two continents using a "Jet pack".
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On 5 November 2010 Yves Rossy flew a new version of his jet-powered flight system and successfully performed two aerial loops before landing via parachute.
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Yves Rossy had launched from a hot air balloon piloted by Brian Jones at 2,400 meters.
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On 7 May 2011 Yves Rossy flew above the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
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When it finally granted him a license, the FAA waived the normal 25 to 40 hours of flight testing time, and Yves Rossy acted quickly to complete his flight.
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Yves Rossy was featured on an episode of Stan Lee's Superhumans.
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Yves Rossy has appeared on the BBC's Top Gear Season 18 Episode 5, where he raced Richard Hammond and Toni Gardemeister.
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Yves Rossy was a main attraction at the 2013 Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Fly-In, America's largest fly-in.
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Yves Rossy was featured in the South Australian Primary School's Music Festival in 2014, when the theme of the Festival was flight.
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Yves Rossy had to fall a distance to build up enough air speed for his airfoils to work.
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In November 2019, Yves Rossy demonstrated the ability to take off, hover, and land without external assistance.
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Yves Rossy announced on his website in July 2019 that he had parted ways with the Jetman Dubai team.