The FUTURE of Flight

It’s a bird; it’s a plane, it’s … Dubai’s Jetman.

The Crown Prince of Dubai Sheik Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum shared a video to his Instagram account showing the first autonomous human flight in the city via a vertical takeoff.

“A major milestone in the quest to achieve 100% autonomous human flight. Well done boys,” the sheik captioned the post.

The video shows Jetman stuntman Vince Reffet, outfitted with a carbon fiber wing powered by four mini jet engines, taking off like Super Man over Jumeirah Beach Residence. The latest mission was the first time the pilots have taken off vertically. Typically, as in the last Jetman mission—over China’s Tianmen Mountains—the Jetmen must jump out of a helicopter before engaging their engines.

Within seconds, Reffet reached more than 325 feet and within 30 seconds reached a height of 3,280 feet at an average speed of 130 knots, according to Gulf Today.

By the end of the three-minute flight, reaching an altitude of nearly 5,000 feet, Reffet opened a parachute and landed safely back at Skydive Dubai, according to the newspaper.

The Jetman Dubai project aims to demonstrate what can be done when technology and nerves of steel combine.

The Jetmen, Reffet and Fred Fugen, are currently working with Emirati skydive pro Ahmed Al Shehhi.

The project is also supported by Swiss former military pilot Yves Rossy, who invented the carbon-fiber Jetman pack.