Skyflash: Packing a twin-engine plane into a backpack

Flight you strap to your back is a dream that was never quite fulfilled by all those scientists in the ’50s. True, there are guys like Jetman Yves Rossy, who jumps out of airplanes with a jet rocket strapped to his back, and work on the jetpack is ongoing, but we never got a way to take off from the ground and actually fly with something strapped to the back.

Skyflash

Until now, that is.

Skyflash will be, when completed and if it works, the world’s smallest twin engine plane, and you’ll take off just like a normal plane, rolling down a runway. If the idea of strapping yourself into a plane that takes off from the ground doesn’t sound crazy enough, you’ll need fireproof boots to control the thing, since gaining altitude will involve dipping your feet into the exhaust. Oh, and you also land just like a normal plane.

Needless to say, the crazed Germans building this thing are still in the prototype stage: They’ve built an almost-full-sized version out of aviation plywood to conduct tests. In their sole concession to safety, the wingsuit has quick release buttons, and a parachute built in.

So, who’s first to try it?

Skyflash [Official Site]