On one wing and a dream, ‘Jetman’ soars around Mount Fuji

Whooshing through the sky over mountains, past clouds, he leaves swirling contrails behind him. He's Jetman, and last week the pilot-turned-flying man spread his wings over Mount Fuji, Japan.

Since he first flew with his carbon fiber wing and four jet engines strapped to his back in 2006, Swiss pilot Yves Rossy's Superman-inspired nickname has spread worldwide. Sports Illustrated has described Rossy as a small, balding, mostly unremarkable-looking man, now 54, with dreams that have lifted him to the sky since he attended an airshow at 13 years old.

[ Related: James Bond-inspired jetpacks send thrill seekers skyrocketing ]

Rossy became a military pilot and then a captain for Swiss International Air Lines for a time, before making his full transformation to Jetman. Now, he told Wired, his work flying the "jetwing" is physical, tilting his shoulders here to turn in the air or using his body to sense the air as he jumps.

Last week, Rossy flew in Asia for the first time, to mark Mount Fuji's recent designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He flew nine times between Oct. 28 and Nov. 3, according to the Telegraph, adding a new landmark to a list of remarkable flights that have included soaring over the Swiss Alps, the Grand Canyon and the English Channel.

In 2011, Rossy joined a formation with two jets while flying the jetwing, which moves at an average speed of 200 km/h.