I love interviewing extreme sportsmen and women. Not because they are crazy daredevils. The truth is that they are just the opposite. And you won't find a finer example of the species than Jetman Dubai.
Despite the glamorous title, Yves Rossy is a softly spoken and very meticulous former airline pilot who now jumps out of helicopters with a two metre carbon-fibre wing strapped to his back.
After an acrobatic backflip off the skids, he goes into a steep dive before firing up four tiny jet motors and, within seconds, he's flying beside the chopper using delicate body movements to perform some breathtaking manouevres.
For many years, Yves has wanted to fly like a bird of prey. And now he's living the dream.
The Jetman Dubai hangar is situated in the desert about 50 kilometres from the awe-inspiring skyscrapers of the city. It is laid out as neatly as an operating theatre, a Swiss bell and cuckoo clock the clues to his heritage.
He has flown over the Alps, he has crossed the English Channel in nine minutes. But his most choreographed mission was flying besides the biggest commercial airliner in the world, an Emirates A380.
For this incredible performance, he included his young protégé Vince Reffet who is a champion skydiver and noted base-jumper.
And since that stunning video went viral, Yves and his passionate team cannot keep up with the demand for his services. He is coming to Cape Town soon for the Sports Show and a flight over Table Mountain will surely be on the cards after that.
Lifting off with the team for yet another practice flight, I was impressed with the ice-cool precision at every stage of the process. From strapping on the wing to checking the jet motors that were designed for model aircraft.
Then the countdown at about 6 000 feet and Jetman leans back into the pale blue yonder. Leaning out of the doorless helicopter (wearing a safety harness of course) and seeing him in freefall before becoming a human airframe and jetting past us, was just unbelievable.
Yves, in his mid-fifties, parachutes back to the hangar and is soon consulting with the aeronautical engineers about some fine-tuning of the jet motors.
There is one word that portrays Yves and his team: PRECISION.
[pullquote]Sure they are pushing their adventurous spirits to the limit. And things can go wrong when you plummet out of a helicopter like Batman.[/pullquote]Sure they are pushing their adventurous spirits to the limit. And things can go wrong when you plummet out of a helicopter like Batman.
But we all take chances every day – the biggest one being getting behind the steering wheel of our car.
What Yves Rossy does is make us think about the lives we lead.
We are not all cut out to be Jetman Dubai. But we can venture just a little bit more out of our comfort zone.
Aired on Carte Blanche on 13 March 2016.
Despite the glamorous title, Yves Rossy is a softly spoken and very meticulous former airline pilot who now jumps out of helicopters with a two metre carbon-fibre wing strapped to his back.
After an acrobatic backflip off the skids, he goes into a steep dive before firing up four tiny jet motors and, within seconds, he's flying beside the chopper using delicate body movements to perform some breathtaking manouevres.
For many years, Yves has wanted to fly like a bird of prey. And now he's living the dream.
The Jetman Dubai hangar is situated in the desert about 50 kilometres from the awe-inspiring skyscrapers of the city. It is laid out as neatly as an operating theatre, a Swiss bell and cuckoo clock the clues to his heritage.
He has flown over the Alps, he has crossed the English Channel in nine minutes. But his most choreographed mission was flying besides the biggest commercial airliner in the world, an Emirates A380.
For this incredible performance, he included his young protégé Vince Reffet who is a champion skydiver and noted base-jumper.
And since that stunning video went viral, Yves and his passionate team cannot keep up with the demand for his services. He is coming to Cape Town soon for the Sports Show and a flight over Table Mountain will surely be on the cards after that.
Lifting off with the team for yet another practice flight, I was impressed with the ice-cool precision at every stage of the process. From strapping on the wing to checking the jet motors that were designed for model aircraft.
Then the countdown at about 6 000 feet and Jetman leans back into the pale blue yonder. Leaning out of the doorless helicopter (wearing a safety harness of course) and seeing him in freefall before becoming a human airframe and jetting past us, was just unbelievable.
Yves, in his mid-fifties, parachutes back to the hangar and is soon consulting with the aeronautical engineers about some fine-tuning of the jet motors.
There is one word that portrays Yves and his team: PRECISION.
[pullquote]Sure they are pushing their adventurous spirits to the limit. And things can go wrong when you plummet out of a helicopter like Batman.[/pullquote]Sure they are pushing their adventurous spirits to the limit. And things can go wrong when you plummet out of a helicopter like Batman.
But we all take chances every day – the biggest one being getting behind the steering wheel of our car.
What Yves Rossy does is make us think about the lives we lead.
We are not all cut out to be Jetman Dubai. But we can venture just a little bit more out of our comfort zone.
Sometimes you need to be lifted from reality. #jetman on @carteblanchetv does that! @jetmandubai #yvesrossy pic.twitter.com/bQSknQtRwj
— Derek Watts (@DerekWatts) March 13, 2016
#Jetman: Will you be jumping out of planes in your mid-50s? @jetmandubai @carteblanchetv #yvesrossy
— Derek Watts (@DerekWatts) March 13, 2016
Jetman Defies Gravity
Aired on Carte Blanche on 13 March 2016.
Jetman Dubai: Young Feathers 4K
Published on May 11, 2015 on XDubai's YouTube Channel
We mark a new milestone in the chapter of human flight. Join Jetman Yves Rossy and his protégé, Jetman Vince Reffet as they explore the limits in the city of dreams.