Bird of Prey

I always hesitate to put up some simple picture and quickly comment on it. Sure, I have done it before, but I liked that as much as I liked not posting.

However, I am not made of stone and this is fucking awesome...

That is Swiss pilot Yves Rossy flying a JET POWERED, BACK PACKED, SET OF WINGS over the Swiss Alps. Many, many, many decades since The Day The Earth Stood Still, since we boldly went where no man went before, and since we walked without rhythm it is about time we got a working jet pack! Now we just need those hyperdrives and wrist rockets.


While it has always been humanity's dream to fly, I can't help but see how life catches up to art. Or pop-art depending on how you consider those old comics where a disgruntled inventor turns that suit of armor he was developing for peace (Seriously? Were those spinning saw blades supposed to scythe stalks of rice?) into a killing machine. The Marvel universe is full of such maniacs. Except, Yves will certainly use his machine for good. Like flying over the English Channel or, ultimately, through the Grand Canyon*.

Imagine flying through the red rock formations of the Grand Canyon. The green-blue waters of the Colorado River dampen your flight suit as you start at Le Poudre Pass Lake and then you start to scare canoers all through eastern Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. You get close to the Gulf of California, but by then the whole river has gone dry and the only sign of its water is the vineyard leaves stuck to your nylon wings. It would be flying up and over aviation and ecological history, plus an unforgettable slice of Americana. I give it fifteen years until flying the Grand Canyon on a JET POWERED, BACK PACKED, SET OF WINGS becomes the new pinnacle of daredevilry, usurping riding a barrel over Niagara Falls or burying oneself alive.

Check out more pictures and news of Yves Rossy on his website. It never loaded for me, but probably only because the sheer weight of all those girls underpants must mess with the servers. Or you can You Tube the hell out of him.

Peace!

All photos credit of the Associated Press. Please don't sue! I think your style rocks!

*Oh, and the sheer amount of potential Star Wars references dizzies me! Beggar's Canyon, Womp Rats, the Death Star Run! Thank you, Yves Rossy!