People have dreamt of flying since written history began. In the 1400s, Leonardo da Vinci drew detailed plans for humman flying machines. You might have thought the invention of mechanised flight would have put an end to such ideas. Far from it. For many enthusiasts, the ultimate flight fantasy is the jet pack, a small piece of equipment on your back which enables you to climb into the air and fly forwards, backwards and turn. Eric Scott was a stuntman in Hollywood for about a decade and has used jet packs to fly into the air more than 600 times. Now he works for an energy drink company that pays him to travel around the world with his jet pack. As Scott says, "I get to do what I love and wherever I go I advertise Go Fast drinks. Existing packs work for little more than 30 seconds, but people are working on designs which could let you fly around for 20 minutes. That would be amazing."
Paramotoring is another way of getting into the air. A paramotor combines the paraglider with a motor which provides enough force and is now becoming popular. Chris Clarke has been flying a paramotor for five years." Getting about is roughly comparable with driving a petrol-powered car in terms of expense. The trouble is that paramotoring is ill-suited to commuting because of the impossibility of taking off in strong winds," says Clarke.
Another keen paramotorist recently experienced a close call when in the air. "I started to get a warm feeling in my back,” says Patrick Vandenbulcke." I thought I was just sweating. But then I started to feel burning and I realised I had to get to the ground fast. After an inspection of the engine later, I noticed that the exhaust pipe had moved during the flight and the equipment had started melting." This hasn't put Vandenbulcke off, however, and he is enthusiastic about persuading others to take up paramotoring.
Fun though it is, the sport fails to satisfy many fliers because they cannot soar as swiftly as birds. Then emerged jet-powered flying, a new technology equipped with jet turbines and special wings, just like those of a bird. Yves Rossy, who has been labelled "the Birdman", is widely recognised as the first jet-powered flying man.
In May 2008, he stepped out of an aircraft at about 3000 metres. Within seconds he was soaring and diving at over 290 kph, at one point reaching 300 kph, about 104 kph faster than the typical falling skydiver. His speed was monitored by a plane flying alongside. Rossy started his flight with a free fall, and then he powered four jet turbines to keep him in the air before releasing a parachute which enabled him to float to the ground. The jet turbines were attached to special wings which he could unfold. The wings were made by a German firm called JCT Composites. Initially he had consulted with a company called Jet-Kit which specialised in small planes, but the wings they made for him weren't strong enough to support the weight of the engines. Rossy says he has become the first person to keep a stable horizontal flight, thanks to carbon foldable wings. Without these special wings, it is doubtful he would have managed to do this.
Rossy's ambitions include flying down the Grand Canyon, and to do this, he will have to fit his wings with bigger jets. The engines he currently uses already provide enough thrust to allow him to climb through the air, but then he needs more power to stay there. In terms of the physical strength involved, Rossy insists it's no more difficult than riding a motorbike. If he makes it, other fliers will want to know whether they too will someday be able to soar. The answer is yes, possibly, but it is unlikely to be more than an expensive hobby.
