Daredevil Yves Rossy has never been afraid to think big when it comes to high-altitude stuntwork, but when it comes to wingmen, it doesn't come any bigger than this. "Jetman" has strapped on his set of kevlar wings and taken to the skies of Dubai to fly alongside the largest commercial aircraft there is, an Airbus A380 passenger jet.
In the video, Rossy and his sidekick Vince Reffet are dropped from a helicopter at an altitude of 5,500 ft (1,676 m) and join the enormous aircraft as it soars over the city at 4,000 ft (1,219 m). The low margin for error meant that the flight patterns were carefully choreographed for the sake of safety, but also to ensure the production team could get the shots needed to make a badass video.
"We will be mosquitos flying with an eagle or a condor," Rossy said ahead of the flight.
To keep pace with the aircraft and fly in formation, the duo had to push the small jetpack engines to their limits, meaning they could fly for no longer than 10 minutes at a time. With this small window to work in, the footage shows Rossy and Reffet in a series of tight holding patterns on either side of the plane before finally breaking away to (relative) safety.
You can watch this insane footage below, while the second video details some of the planning that went into the stunt.
Source: Jetman
