Have you ever wished you could fly? Unfortunately, the annoyance of physics and gravity has prevented humans from springing from the ground and taking to the air. Until now. A former Swiss military pilot and inventor, Yves Rossy, has made the dream of flying an amazing reality.

In 2003, Rossy started his Flying Man project by jumping out of a plane with a set of clumsy wings strapped to his back. While this sounds like something you would see Homer Simpson attempt drunk, the result was a swooping flight of eight miles while only descending 1000ft in altitude.

Luckily, his new project is far more advanced. He begins his flight in a plane and leaps out as if to skydive. However, rather than dropping faster than Enron's stock, the 10ft aerofoil attached to his back unfolds wings electronically, providing enough lift for Rossy to glide. Once his four kerosene-powered engines kick on, he is a human jet. These engines actually have enough thrust for this breathing rocket to gain altitude at a rate of several hundred feet per minute. He carries enough fuel for a six minute ride, and when that is up, a parachute is activated and he floats back to earth.

While this sounds like something out of a James Bond movie, Rossy hopes to create a system that will allow him to take off from the ground without the aid of a plane. The coolest thing about this new form of flight, according to Rossy, is that he steers simply by shifting his body weight. "It is like how a child would fly. It was an amazingly good feeling, like a dream. When you are in an aircraft you have to steer by a stick. You have no contact with the elements," he says.

Rossy's invention is the closest a human has come to experiencing what it is like to be a bird. He gives hope to every kid who has wanted to fly like superman. Now, if he could just figure out a way to create X-ray vision we would all be set.

» Check out Jet Man.