JetMan Plans Grand Canyon Flyover

USA Today: If the red rock splendor of the Grand Canyon alone isn't enough to knock your socks off, you might want to high-tail it over there at 10 a.m. May 6 when Yves Rossy -- aka JetMan -- straps on a wing powered by four jet engines and jumps out of a helicopter for his own bird's-eye flyover of the rugged chasm.

The Swiss pilot/aviator/engineer has performed similar daredevil feats, flying across the English Channel in 2008 and jumping from a balloon at 7,200 feet last year to execute looping maneuvers over Denezy, Switzerland. But this marks his first venture into U.S. airspace.

Negotiations with the Hualapai Indian tribe, whose million-acre reservation includes a western branch of the Grand Canyon (about 2 1/2 hours southeast of Las Vegas) have been underway for two years, says a marketing director for luxury Swiss watchmaker Breitling, JetMan's corporate sponsor. Local FAA officials also have given the stunt their blessing, she said.

The feat will take place at Grand Canyon West, a tourist enclave operated by the Hualapais and best known for its Skywalk, a glass-bottomed cantilevered deck that juts out over the canyon 4,000 feet above its floor. JetMan will jump from a helicopter, fly along the rim of the canyon (so, presumably, spectators can get a good view of him at eye level) then parachute to the canyon floor, where another copter will give him a lift back up. The last daredevil stunt at the canyon was in 1999, when Robbie Knieval (son of Evel Knieval) jumped his motorcycle 228 feet over a 2,500-foot-deep side canyon.

The Grand Canyon West complex, which features a faux Indian village, horseback rides, and performances by tribe members, has had skyrocketing attendance since the debut of the horseshoe-shaped Skywalk in 2007. The tribe and the Las Vegas-based financier of the $30 million Skywalk construction are now battling in federal court in a dispute over profits.

The JetMan extravaganza is being staged by Breitling, not Grand Canyon West, a spokesperson for the tribe said. Entry to the park on the day of the flight will be the same as usual, ranging from $43.05 for basic admission to $86.81 for a chance to stroll out onto the Skywalk and other extras.

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