Aircraft

Jetman Yves Rossy can now take off from the ground ... autonomously

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A serene sight, as Jetman Yves Rossy rises up from the ground with his new autonomous VTOL system
Yves Rossi
Jetman Yves Rossy in a stable VTOL hover
Yves Rossi
While one of the VTOL attempts sounds like it might've put him in the drink, autonomous ground takeoff is a huge step forward for the Jetman
Yves Rossi
A serene sight, as Jetman Yves Rossy rises up from the ground with his new autonomous VTOL system
Yves Rossi
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In a stunning new video, jet wing pilot Yves Rossy has proved he doesn't need to drop out of a plane or helicopter to fly any more. He can now levitate off the ground using a new autonomous VTOL system that looks like an almost relaxing way to fly.

The inability to take off from the ground has always been the weakness of Rossy's stunning back-mounted personal flight machine. Launching from altitude was a pain, but once he was in the air he looked absolutely unstoppable, soaring, diving and climbing like a bird with the advantage of wing lift to boost flight efficiency.

Now, with four new, more powerful Jetcat P550 turbine engines on the wing, he's now got enough vertical lift to fly straight upwards at up to 180 km/h (112 mph) – see the video below – and has been working with a Swiss team to develop an autonomous, self-balancing vertical takeoff system.

And today, he's released more footage off the tether, taking off and hovering over a lake before coming back in to land. We must've watched this video a dozen times. It just looks so easy and relaxed. Rossy's arms are completely free, he uses nothing but finger controls built into his gloves, and the jet wing happily self-balances. From there he seems to have the ability to move around slowly in hover mode, and land gently on his feet.

One imagines there's work to be done on the transition to winged flight, and Rossy hints that the second flight's landing "was a little wet," but it seems the capability to strap on a jet wing, rise up from the ground and then soar like an eagle through the clouds alongside airplanes is coming within reach. Absolutely magnificent.

Testing will continue in the new year. Watch the video below!

Source: Yves Rossy

View gallery - 3 images
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9 comments
Graeme S
Amazing, simply amazing, now all we need is an arc reactor and electric thrusters,..... well dreaming is good, yes??
MQ
Fantastic.. show "Old Boy"..
We already know these - type of- "model Jets" are capable of vertical flight with a human onboard. (Thanks Frankie) ....

Adding Vectoring to one of the pairs of motors seems a logical way to go.... (as well as mounting the motors above / in front the CG, it just helps a little with the initial liftoff (better than having to balance a broomstick on its end (though that too is "fairly simple" once you know how to do it -"versed in the art"- Electronically or manually.... )

Having the static thrust to lift off (with "some g-force" basically means yes you have the thrust to accelerate vertically (or very nearly so - at a significant fraction of the Jet exhaust speed...

Nice one...

(NB. Zurich is the home of one of the well known Opensource "Drone" (UAV / MAV) initiatives so there shold be someone with the know-how to stabilise even something like this.... (Note that the design seems to be "nearly stable" - if not stable - in at least 2 axes natively..
Mzungu_Mkubwa
If this doesn't show up in the next Bond movie, I'm going to be sorely disappointed! Fantastic work Mr. Rossy! Congratulations! Now, how about a race with some of the other up-and-comers in the jetpack marketplace?
CraigAllenCorson
I'd like to have seen him transition from vertical to horizontal flight.
WB
Transition is easy just climb fast enough
Thud
Amazing. I can't imagine what kind of a reaction your get when those engines hit the water though. Pretty energetic i bet.
Riaanh
Wow, amazing. We will probably need to wait a few months to see a a full flight from him. This seemed to be a test of the hovering capabilities. The transition to flight with lift generated by the wings will require quite a bit of more speed.
I like his approach since it does lend itself to a lot more speed than the approach of the other three systems currently being developed.
Riaanh
...but you do require a special kind of person to strap a few jet engines to you and start flying. It a very dangerous road he has to take now, to test and develop this new system to attain full flight....Before he was doing it at an altitude where parachutes are actually working.
dandandan
The transition from horizontal to a vertical landing I think is going to be quite hard to master. Cutting engine power and flying into a speed matched mobile net with thick heat proof matts underneath is possibly more feasible. Sort of arrester hook style.