Fly Like A (Jet-powered) Bird

Just in time for summer, it’s Batman meets James Bond … not at the movies, but up in the skies. A German company, ESG, introduced its prototype of a jet-powered wing that will enable parachutists to fly over 100 miles from the airplane to a landing site. Designed for the military, the system enables paratroopers with a new degree of versatility. The wing is now being tested sans jet engines, but still has a glide distance of about 25 miles with jumps from 32,000 feet. It also enables jumpers to operate at night and in bad weather, using a stabilization system to deal with adverse wind conditions, ESG said. And the next version of the system will have even more capability.

Just in time for summer, it's Batman meets James Bond ... not at the movies, but up in the skies. A German company, ESG, introduced its prototype of a jet-powered wing that will enable parachutists to fly over 100 miles from the airplane to a landing site. Designed for the military, the system enables paratroopers with a new degree of versatility. The wing is now being tested sans jet engines, but still has a glide distance of about 25 miles with jumps from 32,000 feet. It also enables jumpers to operate at night and in bad weather, using a stabilization system to deal with adverse wind conditions, ESG said. And the next version of the system will have even more capability. The jet-equipped wing, which will weigh about 66 pounds, will have a cargo compartment. The jumper would have to be supplied with oxygen and thermal clothing. Of course, no new gizmo is without predecessors. Swiss pilot Yves Rossy jumped with a similar contraption in 2004, and flew horizontally for over four minutes at about 100 knots, using small jet packs for power.