Thursday, May 15, 2008

Living in a comic book world.

Take a look at the following picture. I mean take a really close look. Observe the details.

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us


Compared to superheroes like Iron Man, who fly with no visible nods to the laws of aerodynamics, MACH I (a lesser-known Marvel character)sports features like airplane-like wings and a more traditional flight helmet that almost make his suit look like a feasible piece of technology.

Well, guess what?

Passing from free fall to a gentle glide, Rossy then triggered four jet turbines and accelerated to 186 miles per hour, about 65 miles per hour faster than the typical falling skydiver. A plane that flew at some distance beside him measured his speed.


The crowd on the mountaintop below gasped and cheered.


Rossy's mother, who was among the spectators, told journalists she felt no fear.
"He knows what he's doing," Paule Rossy said of her son, who now flies commercial planes for Swiss airlines.


Steering with his body, Rossy dived, turned and soared again, performing what appeared to be effortless loops from one side of the Rhone valley to the other. At times he rose 2,600 feet before descending again.


After one last wave to the crowd the rocket man tipped his wings, flipped onto his back and leveled out again, executing a perfect 360-degree roll.


"That was to impress the girls," he later admitted.


I love being alive today.

No comments: