A Swiss man has become the first person to fly with nothing but a wing and a jet engine on his back. Yves Rossy is a former military pilot and a current Airbus pilot with Swiss International Air Lines. The man was dropped from an altitude of 2438 metres with his wing folded.

During his fall with a parachute for backup he unfolded his wing and began his powered flight at speeds up to 300km/h. Rossy even performed a few barrel rolls for the crowd who likely turned up expecting to see the man smash into the Alps.

This wasn’t Rossy’s first attempt to fly with a wing on his back. His previous attempt using an inflatable wing failed. He then began flight attempts and research with a ridged wing. The wing used in his successful flight was made from carbon. Rossy plans to attempt to fly across the Channel in the fall.

Via Guardian