Bob Collins
Let’s step back from the ledge for a few minutes, just long enough to remember that it’s still OK to have a little fun.
For sheer, gee-I-wish-I-could-do-that-if-I-weren’t-so-chicken daydreaming, nothing fits the bill better than Yves Rossy, who jumped out of an airplane over France this morning, and landed about 13 minutes later in England.
He wore a jetpack-powered wing on his back:
Rossy’s wing was made from carbon composite. It weighs about 121 pounds when loaded with fuel and carried four kerosene-burning jet turbines. The contraption has no steering devices. Rossy, a commercial airline pilot by training, wiggled his body back and forth to control the wing’s movements.
He wore a heat-resistant suit similar to that worn by firefighters and racing drivers to protect him from the heat of the turbines. The cooling effect of the wind and high altitude also prevented him from getting too warm.
Why? What the heck! Why not? It beats sitting around watching the 401K free-fall.
