Wingsuit Flier Powers Up with Jet Engines

You have likely heard of Yves Rossy, aka Jetman, who designed a hard wing with jet engines that he straps on like a backpack and controls with body contortions. The Hague, Netherlands-based wingsuit pilot Jarno Cordia has pulled off his own concept, attaching what he calls “iron man style jet boots” to his ankles in order to extend his wingsuit flights.

Cordia first tried out the concept a couple of weeks ago over the Netherlands. With more than 175 pounds of thrust strapped to his legs, Cordia had more than twice the power used by Jetman. Unlike Jetman, however, it doesn’t appear that Cordia had any power control system. The jets were turned on just before he jumped off of a hot air balloon at 5,000 feet, and they were at full power 5 seconds after the launch, according to Cordia.

Cordia flew under power for 2 minutes 45 seconds as he cruised and even climbed over the Dutch landscape.

“These are the first baby steps in many more flights and bigger things to come!” Cordia wrote on Facebook after his groundbreaking flight.

Watch the video of what was likely the very first powered wingsuit flight above.