Paris (AFP)
In the manner of Comic superheroes, they propel themselves and fly at impressive speeds: The French 'Jetmen' Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet delivered their latest album. They flew carrying their wings on their backs to cross a mountain in China.
The two men, overcome by the extreme and breathtaking challenges, crossed the famous Gate of Heaven - a 130-meter-high, 30-meter-wide opening in the Tianmen Mountain Highlands, located in Hunan Province, south of China.
Each had its black carbon wing attached to the back, equipped with four mini-reactors - about a hundred pounds - that launch the man at some 400 km / h horizontally over the green forest. It took 14 flights over 2 weeks to sign a one-minute video of their feat.
The French tandem, known as the Soul Flyers, rushed from a helicopter up to 1500 m altitude, where is the plateau of the mountain. Firing reactors, training of the two athletes and go for a demented man flight!
"The power-to-weight ratio is impressive, it's like a fighter jet, it's a machine that allows us to evolve in three dimensions," says Fred Fugen to AFP.
"It was the first time we did something like that, in jetman, to go into the hole in a rock, we had never done it with the Jetman wing, the terrain is beautiful and the mountains are It's just great to be able to fly in that setting, "he continues.
Today, they develop the Jetman, a concept invented by a former Swiss fighter pilot, Yves Rossi, with whom they had signed an aerial choreography by flying with the Patrouille de France at the end of 2016.
"Jetman is the perfect evolution of our sport, it's complementary to everything we do, we're always attracted to gravity, it's so good to be in the air, to fly, this sensation on the face, in contact with our skin, it's really extraordinary, it's indescribable, "says Vince Reffet, who has been flying with his partner for 20 years.
The tandem, based in Dubai, is working on new developments, which they hope to present soon. They dream of taking off from the ground (and no longer from a helicopter).
"We're spending a lot of time on the development of vertical take-off, and we can do it anywhere, and go as high as we can, it's a dimension we want to go to," says Fred. Fugen, indicating that during the last tests they could go up to 6000 m.
© 2019 AFP