Posts Tagged ‘yves rossy’
Who says you’re too old to kitesurf, or do any extreme sport for that matter?
There’s no such thing as “too old” – or not in Poul Rasmussen’s case. At 85 years old his passion is kitesurfing (AdvanceCopenhagen).
There are many much better and much longer videos, but unfortunately all with a lot of interviews included – and the language is Danish. Now, I have nothing against the Danish language, but I’m not sure how many of our readers are fluent in it! So I apologise to Poul, but the quick snip I’ve shown of a man to emanate will, I hope, whet your appetite to keep reading!
So that’s kitesurfing out the way, what about some of our other favourite sports?
Donna Vano is the oldest pro-snowboarder in the world. At 56 she is a legend in the snowboard and skateboard industry- an action sports veteran in every sense of the word. For 16 years she has competed in Superpipe, Slopestyle, Boardercross, Slalom and Giant Slalom. She currently holds three Guinness World Records as the Oldest Inline Vert Skater in the World, the Most Gold Medals in the USASA in all 5 disciplines, and the Oldest Female Amateur Snowboarder Competing in Pro Tours in the Superpipe. She also runs the South Tahoe Snowboard Series USASA Nationals, which was the top for 8 years in a row and has been top in the series for 12 years. “I’m not getting older, I’m getting better,” she says.
The oldest person to have climbed Mount Everest is a Nepalese Sherpa called Min Bahadur Sherchan. He was 76 years and 340 days old. The second oldest is 75-year-old Japanese Yuichiro Miura, who reached the top two days after him, and the third is another Japanese, 71 year old Katsusuke Yanagisawa, a teacher by profession.
In 2009, Amanda Richmond, 54, a PE teacher from Ipswich, England, battled electrical storms, giant snow plumes and freezing temperatures to scale the 8,850m mountain, the highest on earth and so became the oldest woman to have climbed Everest. She said: “It was incredible. I feel privileged to have been in that situation – to stand on top of the world.”
I’m trying to find the oldest wingsuit flyer, but in the meantime I have come across the oldest skydiver. Frank Moody, aged 101, made a tandem jump in 2004. Now that’s quite something isn’t – anybody who ‘doesn’t dare’ should be ashamed of themselves!!!
Still struggling to find the oldest wingsuit flyer, I have to allude to Yves Rossy – or ‘jet’ or ‘fusion’ man as he is also known. At 50, he has to be the oldest and most successful person to have achieved sustained human flight with the aid of a jet-powered fixed wing strapped to his back. His next project is to fly across the Grand Canyon. Rossy is both a highly experienced skydiver and a veteran aircraft pilot.
“My biggest concern is what happens when I get bored with this (wingsuit flying),” says veteran BASEjumper Phil Smith on the risks of wingsuit jumping from buildings, bridges and cliffs, and that’s about the last word I have on the oldest wingsuit flyer. I know Dwain Weston was 30 when he died practicing the sport he loved, but as for the oldest wingsuit flyer? Mum’s the word.
Since 2006, Russell Allen, an American cyclist has been the oldest living American Olympian Cyclist – he got his medal in 1932. But cycling has a venerable reputation for more aged participants. The oldest participant for the ‘Les 24 Heures Velo’ – a team-endurance cycle event to be held in August this year at the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit – will be 82 years old. Whereas, In 2007 in Ladysmith, South Africa, Mkhulu Mkhize, was given a brand new set of wheels at the venerable age of 112. Ok, fair enough, he’s not about to be competing at that age – but to still be cycling yourself around the countryside is quite something.
And as for the Olympics, it seems like our sportsmen are going on for ever and ever. The 2008 event was a real eye-opener. Japanese horseman Hiroshi Hoketsu lead the pack at Beijing, returning to the Games after a 44-year break, aged 67. Laurie Lever turned 60 in October 2007, the last thing on his mind was retirement with the Australian show jumper focused on riding in his first Olympics. The title of oldest Olympian is held by Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn, who collected his sixth medal at the 1920 Antwerp Games aged 72 years and 280 days. “We are a fitter generation,” said Lever, whose appearance on Ashleigh Drossel Dan in the show jumping in Hong Kong is believed to make him the oldest debutant at the 2008 Games.
Laurence J. Brophy of Wales at 77 years old took part in last years’ RacingThePlanet Atacama Crossing – surely one of the most testing of the ultramarathon/endurance races. He didn’t complete all stages, but he did most of it. An extraodinary undertaking for any human being let alone one on the other side of 70 and at 74, Jack Denness of the UK, took part in the Sahara Race. He said: “It is fantastic to be here. I love it. It is great for my ego as even the front runners give me lots of respect because of my age.”
Sports academics are not surprised by the ability of athletes to remain competitive longer and expect increasing numbers of over 40s to stay competing at top level sport as training techniques and technology continue to improve.
“Ageing is inevitable for humans. But if you have goals in life, you should go through the physical and mental training, forget about age and embark on the challenges,” said Yuichiro Miura.
Something to think about, isn’t it…
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Was Buck Rogers the first wing suit flyer?
Arnie Schwarzenegger once famously pronounced ‘I’ll be back’ in one of his Terminator movies – well I am back and this leaves me with a dilemma – my co editor and family have fulfilled their part of our ‘deal’ – they bungee jumped at Victoria Falls! Congratulations – and I am pleased to say they are all fit and well and smiling.
You must understand that as a blog which writes, reports and does all things about extreme sports we feel we are somewhat obliged to have experienced as many of the extremes about which we write as possible. My co-editor and her family, having agreed to the bungee jump, then helpfully pronounced that my part of the ‘deal’ would be to wingsuit fly! Here you should note that I was not allowed to comment and have steadfastly refused to be a party to the deal.
However in understanding that to get even close to becoming a wingsuit flyer you have to have many hours of tuition, training, practicing, parachuting and free diving I thought I could at least do a little research – please note that this in no way suggests that I accept the deal.
And the results – well it seems that we can date back the first wingsuit flyer to 1928 when Captain Anthony Rogers – otherwise known as Buck Rogers – first appeared in a sci-fi story in a popular pulp magazine. Manned flight has long been in mind – the legend of Icarus, Leonardo da Vinci’s helicopter – but it was Buck who really fired up the imagination.
Steve Kramer of the Wall Street Journal reports on a book just published called Jetpack Dreams by Mac Montandon:
‘Nevertheless, a few obsessed engineers and enthusiasts keep trying to achieve lift-off. In “Jetpack Dreams,” Mac Montandon tours this wreckage-strewn territory and sketches some of its fanatical inhabitants………
At the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, Thiokol Chemical and, most notably, Bell Aerospace, engineers inspired by Buck Rogers spent years and fortunes designing jetpacks. Then as now, the contraptions featured strap-on tanks filled with volatile fuel, usually hydrogen peroxide, that powered thrusters for propelling the pilot skyward. Then as now, most of the jetpacks flew about as well as ostriches.
The partial exception was the Rocket Belt, developed by an appealingly monomaniacal engineer at Bell Aerospace named Wendell Moore. Mr. Montandon tells this part of the story well. After Mr. Moore shattered his kneecap in a crash, he surrendered the throttle to other test pilots but kept refining the Rocket Belt. Success, when it finally arrived, was modest: In April 1961, a pilot scudded 112 feet in 21 seconds. Mr. Moore and others improved the device’s maneuverability but couldn’t extend that 21-second duration. Funding dried up.
Mr. Montandon earnestly recounts the Rocket Belt’s high points: an exhibition for President Kennedy, cameos on the TV show “Lost in Space” and in the 1965 James Bond movie “Thunderball” (“one of the most profound pop culture touchstones for jetpack junkies,” Mr. Montandon writes), and a flight at the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. The device was also popular at state fairs and sporting events.
Mr. Montandon strains to portray these 21-second displays as triumphs and the use of jetpacks in ads and videogames as significant cultural markers. But in truth his examples show the jetpack dwindling from a potentially world-shaking invention into a high-tech toy for entertaining but irrelevant stunts.’
So you see – when I read words such as ‘ostrich, shattered knee cap and wreckage strewn territory’ you will understand why I might spend quite a long time in the research department!
Of course on my return to Europe I was greeted by the very exciting news of Yves Rossy’s successful powered wingsuit flight over the English Channel – La Manche – and to keep up the spirits I have added a very good video by Atika Shubert CNN’s NewsRevue who interviews Rossy before his successful Channel crossing.
Do You Remember Yves Rossy?
It is some time now since I wrote about Yves Rossy, but he is back in the news.
On 26 September 2008, Yves successfully flew across the English Channel from Calais, France, to Dover, England in under 10 minutes - 9 minutes 7 seconds to be exact. His speed reached 186mph during the crossing, and was 125mph when he deployed his parachute.
He leapt from a plane at an altitude of 2,700m and fired up his jet-propelled wing for the 35m flight to England. Minutes later he swept over onlookers on the British side and landed in a field near the white cliffs of Dover. The flight was meant to trace the route of French aviator Louis Bleriot, the first person to cross in an airplane 99 years ago.
Ever since he was a child, Yves Rossy had wanted to “fly like a bird”. And so he developed and built a winged pack with rigid aeroplane-type carbon fibre wings with a span of about 8 feet (2.4 m), and four small kerosene-burning Jet-Cat, jet engines under the wings. He has to wear a heat-resistant suit similar to that of a firefighter or racing driver to protect him from the hot jet exhaust.
Enjoy the video posted by YvesRossy himself.
Congratulations for an historice feat and flight…
Swiss man soars above Alps with jet-powered wing
Wow – look at this:
Thank you to Frank Jordans from the Associated Press on Wednesday May 14th – I have copied this in its entirety…
“A Swiss pilot strapped on a jet-powered wing and leaped from a plane Wednesday for the first public demonstration of the homemade device, turning figure eights and soaring high above the Alps.
Yves Rossy’s performance in front of the world press capped five years of training and many more years of dreaming.
“This flight was absolutely excellent,” the former fighter pilot and extreme sports enthusiast said after touching down on an airfield near the eastern shore of Lake Geneva.
Rossy, 48, had stepped out of the Swiss-built Pilatus Porter aircraft at 7,500 feet and unfolded the rigid eight-foot wings strapped to his back before jumping.
Passing from free fall to a gentle glide, Rossy then triggered four jet turbines and accelerated to 186 miles per hour, about 65 miles per hour faster than the typical falling skydiver. A plane that flew at some distance beside him measured his speed.
The crowd on the mountaintop below gasped and cheered.
Rossy’s mother, who was among the spectators, told journalists she felt no fear.
“He knows what he’s doing,” Paule Rossy said of her son, who now flies commercial planes for Swiss airlines.
Steering with his body, Rossy dived, turned and soared again, performing what appeared to be effortless loops from one side of the Rhone valley to the other. At times he rose 2,600 feet before descending again.
After one last wave to the crowd the rocket man tipped his wings, flipped onto his back and leveled out again, executing a perfect 360-degree roll.
“That was to impress the girls,” he later admitted.
Rossy said after Wednesday’s five-minute flight, he is ready now for a bigger challenge: crossing the English Channel this year.
The stunt, which will be shown on live television, will test his flying machine to the limit. Rossy said he plans to practice the 22-mile trip by flying between two hot-air balloons.
“I still haven’t used the full potential,” he said.
Rossy told The Associated Press that one day he also hopes to fly through the Grand Canyon.
To do this, he will have to fit his wings with bigger, more powerful jets to allow for greater maneuverability. The German-built model aircraft engines he currently uses already provide 200 pounds of thrust, enough to allow Rossy and his 120-pound flying suit to climb through the air.
“Physically, it’s absolutely no stress,” Rossy said. “It’s like being on a motorbike.”
But on this ride, even the slightest movement can cause problems. Rossy said he has to focus hard on relaxing in the air, because “if you put tension on your body, you start to swing around.”
Should things go wrong — and Rossy says they have more times than not — there’s always a yellow handle to jettison the wings and unfold the parachute.
“I’ve had many ‘whoops’ moments,” he said. “My safety is altitude.”
Rossy wears a heat-resistant suit similar to that worn by firefighters and racing drivers, to protect him from the heat of the turbines. The cooling effect of the wind and high altitude also prevent him from getting too hot.
Rossy says his form of human flight will remain the reserve of very few for now. The price and effort involved are simply too enormous, he says.
So far Rossy and his sponsors, including the Swiss watch company Hublot, have poured more than $285,000 and countless hours of labor into building the device. He would not estimate how much his device would cost should it ever be brought to market.
But, he believes similar jet-powered wings will one day be more widely available to experienced parachutists ready for the ultimate flying experience.
That is, if they don’t mind missing out on the breathtaking panorama above the Swiss Alps.
“I am so concentrated, I don’t really enjoy the view,” Rossy said.”
…. well that’s a pity, but no doubt the design will improve rapidly (although it’s pretty amazing already) and your reason for doing it will be the bird’s-eye view!