Debrief /

Yves Rossy is the first person to fly a jet-engine-powered carbon-fiber wing that he designed and built—hence the moniker “Jetman.” He controls the wing with body movements, and lands via a parachute. Rossy has flown across the English Channel, over the Grand Canyon, and around the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.

WHO: Yves Rossy

OCCUPATION: Jetman

AVIATION BACKGROUND: Former fighter pilot, Swiss Air Force; airline pilot (on sabbatical), Swiss International Air Lines

AIRCRAFT FLOWN: Dassault Mirage III, Northrop F-5 Tiger II, Hawker Hunter, Boeing 747, Airbus A320

EXTRA: Rossy has flown in formation with a B-17.

STARTED IN AVIATION…I was inspired at an airshow by the Patrouille Suisse [an aerobatic team of the Swiss Air Force]. I was so impressed; I was 13 years old, and at the end they do this breakoff like this—it was the good old days when the airplanes could come over the crowd. I wanted to go in one of these machines. That was the beginning.

EARLY CHALLENGES…I was not a very good student pilot. It was difficult for me to learn. What I did learn is that OK, you can make mistakes, [but] don’t repeat them. That’s really what I think [was] the key that I needed [to be] successful in aviation. My instructors said, “OK, do the mistake, but next flight, don’t do that same mistake. This I don’t want to see anymore.” Next flight, I did other mistakes, but that one was OK. So step by step, I did learn.

FAVORITE AIRPLANE…The Mirage. It’s such a beautiful lady. It’s very elegant, fantastic aerodynamics, very rewarding, because it’s a difficult airplane.

WHY THE WING…The Mirage is fantastic, but you are not in the air. If I compare [it] to water, you are in a submarine—a closed, small cockpit. What I wanted is to go out of that box and be completely in the element, like a diver in the water, instead of being in a submarine. There is a kind of purity in what I’m doing now. It’s back to the roots of the dream of flying.

ON PREFLIGHTING… I am the fuselage, so I warm up. My landing gear are my legs, so they should be ready for action. All the body should be ready for action, so, like a sportsman, like an athlete, I warm up. [For the wing and suit], we have a 30-point checklist that we check before each flight.

ADVICE FOR ASPIRING JETMEN: If you dream to fly like that, hold tight to that dream. The idea is that the younger generation, they will find new things, better things, with improvements. If I can inspire, the goal is reached.