Former Swiss pilot achieves flying record

Swiss pilot Yves Rossy, the first man in the world to fly under a jet-fitted wing, stands on a platform of a hot air balloon in Bercher, western Switzerland, Friday, Nov. 5, 2010. Rossy has completed two aerial loops using a custom-made jet-propelled wingsuit after he jumped from the balloon.(AP hoto/Keystone, pool, Laurent Gillieron)

11-06-2010 A former Swiss military pilot has accomplished a flying milestone, by achieving yet another record with prowess in his quest to fly like a bird.

The first man to fly with only a fuel powered wing in his back has accomplished his first looping at the Swiss city of Bercher.

The jet man Yves Rossy took off from a hot-air balloon on Friday morning.

He was taken to an altitude of twenty-four hundred meters, where he was released from the balloon"s basket with the four jet-engines turned on.

After a few minutes" flight, he accomplished two full loops for the crowd watching him from the ground.

Former military pilot Yves Rossy said, "It went very well, the first thing I would like to say is thank you to all my team, because I was the only one to jump but everyone participated in put me up there and bring me back down safe."

Rossy"s passion for sports and a solid experience as a Swiss Air Force pilot drove him to seek extreme sensations by flying with his own wing.

His first jet engine was unsuccessfully tested in March 2003 and lead to a rigid, deployable carbon wing developed in 2004.

He completed his first successful flight in 2005 after a few failures.

His latest product just took his quest to fly one step further by allowing him to gain altitude, opening the path to a much wider range of performances.