And to think that at first, as he watched his father parachute, he didn’t find the activity so interesting. Then – a little curiosity, a little to silence those who urged him to at least try – he launched himself too, at 15 years old. And nothing has ever been the same for Vincent Vince Reffet. So much so that, trying to push man’s limits further and further, in November 2015, he jumped from a helicopter to flank an Airbus A380 – the largest passenger plane in the world – with the help of a carbon wing attached to his back. world – flying 1,220 meters above Dubai.
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The accident
Five years after that adventure that made him one of the most famous jetmen (rocket men) in the world Vincent Reffet, 36, originally from Annecy, France, lost his life while training in the desert of the United Arab Emirates. Information leaked so far is scarce. To confirm the death, which occurred last Tuesday perhaps alongside the E66 road, 51 kilometers from the Emirate city, the Jetman Dubai company that had hired him. Vince was a talented athlete and a much loved and respected member of the team, he explains in a statement. We will miss you, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum wrote on Instagram, 37-year-old heir to the throne of Dubai and chairman of the Executive Council.
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The carreer
From an early age, Vince grew up in a family that took a certain interest in extreme activities. I have dreamed of flying since I was 15 – he reminded the international press some time ago -. My father was a paratrooper and I never had a passion for this sport until I tried it. I immediately fell in love and did it for half of my life. Fly my body what I love, he kept repeating. And in fact, after having been a skydiver and after having competed as an extreme athlete, he ventured into combined skydive on Mont Blanc and then launched himself from the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest skyscraper in the world (828 meters) with the insignia of XDubai, associated right to the crown prince.
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The event in Dubai
World fame comes in 2015 when with Jetman Dubai he launches into the aerobatic flight around the Emirates Airbus A380. Behind him a wing attached to the back, equipped with four thrusters, capable of flying for 50 kilometers, up to 6,100 meters of altitude and 400 kilometers per hour. A useful tool also to prevent him and his companion Yves Rossy from being sucked into the four engines of the aircraft.
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I love the feeling of freedom
The jetman is not a pilot, Reffet pointed out several times. In my case you fly with a wing – he explained on the Red Bull website, his old sponsor -, you don’t grab a joystick in the cockpit where you give the inputs to the car and the car becomes your body. With the wing you move the body and it moves with you. This flying with a jetpack. And when theAssociated Press asked him five years ago why he wanted flying alongside an Airbus A380 he replied that for the feeling of freedom it gives me. When I go skydiving I basically like to go where I want, but always going down. With this wing I can now fly like a bird.
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November 18, 2020 (change November 18, 2020 | 11:08 pm)
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