Behind-the-Scenes Video for Flying Jetpacks Around a Massive Emirates A380 Plane Over Dubai

By now you've likely seen this crazy commercial that features a couple of stunt flyers taking to the skies in personal jetpacks, maneuvering around a giant aircraft above the city of Dubai. If you haven't the finished video is below, but you might find more interesting is just how this insane concept got off the ground.

As expected, safety is absolutely priority number one for the team, that included engineers, technical advisors, safety supervisors, as well as the film team who would need to plan every detail of every shot for this to be captured.

For this event, which would end up being filmed for the :90 video below, both the Airbus and the Jetmen flew at around 4,000 feet, with additional craft flying behind and adjacent for the camera angles needed.

In a quote from this CNN article:

Wake turbulence from the Airbus giant was identified as the biggest risk to the two human jets' safety. The formation was carefully calculated to mitigate the dangers to the wing pilots.

Yves Rossy is the lead "Jetman," who is no stranger to these kinds of stunts. He has flown through the Grand Canyon, made a voyage over the English Channel, and has even previously flown alongside aircraft successfully, as seen in the video below.

If you're as intrigued by human flight and pushing the boundaries of what is possible, you might also enjoy this TED Talk from Yves Rossy.

Mike Wilkinson's picture

Mike Wilkinson is an award-winning video director with his company Wilkinson Visual, currently based out of Lexington, Kentucky. Mike has been working in production for over 10 years as a shooter, editor, and producer. His passion lies in outdoor adventures, documentary filmmaking, photography, and locally-sourced food and beer.

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5 Comments

That is insane.

wow! this is crazy! coordination and safety first jeje

The future of flying. XD

Wow didn't knew this video/news would reach Fstoppers. Anyway, I was down there - watching.

Simply wow! - the production meetings alone impressed the hell out of me.