It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s Jetman!

Written by Innovate New Albany@InnovateNA13 years ago

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Are you ready to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Based upon one of the ideas presented at the TED Global Conference, an annual meeting of some of the world’s “smartest scientists, biggest thinkers and most innovative doers,” in Edinburgh, Scotland, it might just happen sooner than you think.

Yves Rossy, a Swiss pilot also known as the Jetman, may be the only person alive who knows what it feels like to fly like a bird! Gearing up in a jet suit with wings and four engines, Rossy jumps out of a helicopter and turns on his invention. With no steering mechanism, he uses his body to control his altitude and speed. Generating speeds of close to 190 miles per hour, Rossy can stay up in the air for about 10 minutes—long enough to travel across the Grand Canyon or the English Channel, both of which he has recently accomplished.

The product isn’t quite ready for public consumption, but Rossy hopes that someday everyone will get to experience the freedom of flying. “I don’t have feathers, but I feel like a bird sometimes. It’s an unreal feeling,” he says.

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Innovate New Albany, the city’s incubator for technology startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses, features 16,000 square feet of space within the New Albany Business Park’s Signature Office Building, 8000 Walton Parkway.