Expo 2020 Dubai is promoting technological innovation through Mission: Human Flight, a programme which aims to achieve 100 per cent autonomous human flight.

The event, to be hosted in Dubai, is an international exhibition where companies across the world come together to promote art, culture, innovation, science and technology.

In a series of milestone stunts, so-called Jetmen, ahead of their appearance at Expo 2020, "will amaze and entertain the planet while also embarking on a journey of discovery" as they soar through the air with their carbon fibre wing powered by four mini-reactors.

The equipment is controlled by the human body and enables the Jetmen to reach speeds of 400kmh, as well as hovering, changing direction and performing loops.

Ahmed Alshehhi, who is set to be the first Emirati Jetman, said he needed to work hard and learn a lot of skills to achieve his dream.

French duo Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet both said that their dreams came true as they soared through China's Tianmen Cave, known as Heaven's Gate with their jet-powered wings.

This footage was recorded in November 2019.

“To invent an aeroplane is nothing. But to fly is everything,” said Otto Lilienthal, the German aviation pioneer. Expo 2020 Dubai is embracing this spirit of innovation and adventure through Mission: Human Flight, a programme which aims to achieve 100 per cent autonomous human flight.

In a series of milestone stunts, ‘Jetmen’ will amaze and entertain the planet while also embarking on a journey of discovery. In late 2019, aerial duo Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet performed the first stunt in China’s Hunan Province – wowing crowds as they soared through Tianmen Cave, also known as ‘Heaven’s Gate’. Each Jetman was equipped with a carbon fibre wing powered by four mini-reactors. The equipment is controlled by the human body and enables the Jetmen to reach speeds of 400kmh, as well as hovering, changing direction and performing loops.

A video crew captured Fugen and Reffet’s ultra-technical displays as they soared through the natural arch of Heaven’s Gate, which measures 131.5m high and 30m wide, reaching speeds of 370kmh over the course of five successful attempts. The landscape’s unique topography offered a stern test of the Jetmen’s skills, as they painstakingly incorporated the mountain’s terrain into their flight plans and experimented with different altitudes, flying as low as 50m above ground. They also managed to master stationary flight with no stabilisation assistance – marking a significant first for Mission: Human Flight.


Morgan Carlson – Project Manager of Mission, Human Flight and First Mate at XDubai

Ahmed Alshehhi (UAE) - first Emirati Jetman

Fred Fugen (FRA) left and Vince Reffet (FRA) right