Nation & World

<< Previous   of   Next >> Associated Press  (click to enlarge) Yves Rossy flies with a jet-powered single wing over the Alps in Bex, Switzerland, on Wednesday.   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • The future of flight, Part II 5/16/08 • What do you do with an 80-year-old ferry? 5/15/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Do you have a news tip? newstips@heraldnet.com | 425.339.3400   Published: Thursday, May 15, 2008 Rocket man shows off jet-powered wings Flier puts on jet-powered public display over Alps Associated Press BEX, Switzerland -- A Swiss pilot strapped on a jet-powered wing and leaped from a plane Wednesday for the first public demonstration of the homemade device, turning figure eights and soaring high above the Alps. Yves Rossy's performance in front of the world press capped five years of training and many more years of dreaming. "This flight was absolutely excellent," the former fighter pilot and extreme sports enthusiast said after touching down on an airfield near the eastern shore of Lake Geneva. Rossy, 48, had stepped out of the Swiss-built Pilatus Porter aircraft at 7,500 feet and unfolded the rigid eight-foot wings strapped to his back before jumping. Passing from free fall to a gentle glide, Rossy then triggered four jet turbines and accelerated to 186 miles per hour, about 65 miles per hour faster than the typical falling skydiver. A plane that flew at some distance beside him measured his speed. The crowd on the mountaintop below gasped and cheered. Rossy's mother, who was among the spectators, told journalists she felt no fear. "He knows what he's doing," Paule Rossy said of her son, who now flies commercial planes for Swiss airlines. Steering with his body, Rossy dived, turned and soared again, performing what appeared to be effortless loops from one side of the Rhone valley to the other. At times he rose 2,600 feet before descending again. After one last wave to the crowd the rocket man tipped his wings, flipped onto his back and leveled out again, executing a perfect 360-degree roll. "That was to impress the girls," he later admitted. Rossy said after Wednesday's five-minute flight, he is ready now for a bigger challenge: crossing the English Channel this year. The stunt, which will be shown on live television, will test his flying machine to the limit. Rossy said he plans to practice the 22-mile trip by flying between two hot-air balloons. "I still haven't used the full potential," he said. Should things go wrong -- and Rossy says they have more times than not -- there's always a yellow handle to jettison the wings and unfold the parachute. "I've had many 'whoops' moments," he said. "My safety is altitude."

1. Man blackmailed ex-girlfriend with nude pictures, police say 2. Snohomish motorcyclist dies in collision with pickup 3. Police looking for man who held up Everett pharmacy 4. Friends plan auction, hope to save woman's home 5. Sheriff warns of Camano Island burglar 6. Arlington private school principal charged with child rape 7. 400 open houses across the county this weekend 8. Man guilty for posing as trooper 9. Cama Beach cabins a quiet, cozy delight 10. LITTLE LEAGUE: Mill Creek reaches state semifinals 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Fewer sports fields could go into Hamlin Park • Taxpayers to Stevens' rescue? • Terrace hires new police chief • Torched!: Three fires blamed on weed torches • A SuperSonics' original: LFP's Henry Akin • Juveniles arrested in burglary spree • Fire levy put to a vote • Late rally, trick play gets Vikings victory • Senior housing on way to Lynnwood • Arlington Fly-In marks 40th anniversary this year • Melody Biringer a wide-ranging entrepreneur • County home market offers low rates, lower prices, wide variety of prope ... • Good investments may be boring but profitable • Fryelands industrial park growing in Monroe • Out of the Blue Aviation expands flight training • Paul Allen’s rare Flying Heritage Collection becomes latest aviation att ... • Warbird's history keeper