Fred Fugen, Vincent Cotte and Aurelien Chatard dropped from a helicopter over the 4,810 metre peak of one of Europe’s highest mountains. Photo: Soul Flyers
Fred Fugen, Vincent Cotte and Aurelien Chatard dropped from a helicopter over the 4,810 metre peak of one of Europe’s highest mountains. Photo: Soul Flyers
Fred Fugen, Vincent Cotte and Aurelien Chatard dropped from a helicopter over the 4,810 metre peak of one of Europe’s highest mountains. Photo: Soul Flyers
Fred Fugen, Vincent Cotte and Aurelien Chatard dropped from a helicopter over the 4,810 metre peak of one of Europe’s highest mountains. Photo: Soul Flyers

XDubai's Jetman completes high-speed descent over Mont Blanc


Nick Webster
  • English
  • Arabic

A Dubai daredevil has claimed the record for the longest wing-suit flight after completing an eight kilometre flight across the snowy peaks of Mont Blanc.

Fred Fugen, 43, is part of the XDubai Jetman team that performs aerial acrobatics and base jumps using parachutes, wing suits and jet-propelled fixed wings.

Alongside French compatriots Vincent Cotte and Aurelien Chatard, the trio ― known as Soul Flyers ― dropped from a helicopter over the 4,810-metre peak of one of Europe’s highest mountains.

A video of the three-minute-20-second flight shows the team going close to the snow-capped slopes of Mont Blanc as they descend at speeds approaching 210 kilometres an hour.

It is said to be the longest recorded flight by wing suit, which is a webbed jumpsuit that opens like a wing to enable the user to manoeuvre and glide at high speed.

The video shows Fugen directing his colleagues throughout the descent into crevasses and over jagged ridges, and leading acrobatic manoeuvres such as rolling across each other and turning upside down.

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The three opened their chutes and landed safely deep in the Chamonix valley. Afterwards Fugen said: “The ultimate fun, congrats guys ― the light was crazy. I’m gonna give you a hug; it was so nice.”

The former skydiving champion from Annecy, in the French Alps, is renowned as a world leader in the extreme sport.

Advances in technology allow wing-suit pilots to climb and glide covering three times the distance of a vertical fall.

The team came terrifyingly close to the snow-capped slopes of Mont Blanc as they descended at speeds approaching 210kph. Photo: Soul Flyers / Facebook
The team came terrifyingly close to the snow-capped slopes of Mont Blanc as they descended at speeds approaching 210kph. Photo: Soul Flyers / Facebook

Spectacular videos show Fugen flying over the Taj Mahal in India, the Giza Pyramids of Egypt, Norwegian fjords and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

It is two years since Vince Reffet, his skydiving partner at XDubai and co-founder of the Soul Flyers team, died when he lost control of his jetpack in the Dubai desert during a training exercise.

Jetman Dubai gives out tickets for Museum of the Future - in pictures

Key developments

All times UTC 4

Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 402bhp

Torque: 760Nm

Price: From Dh280,000

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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi

From: Dara

To: Team@

Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT

Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East

Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.

Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.

I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.

It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.

Uber on,

Dara

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While you're here
What it means to be a conservationist

Who is Enric Sala?

Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.

What is biodiversity?

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.

The biog

Age: 59

From: Giza Governorate, Egypt

Family: A daughter, two sons and wife

Favourite tree: Ghaf

Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense 

Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”

WISH
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How Beautiful this world is!
Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)

Final results:

Open men
Australia 94 (4) beat New Zealand 48 (0)

Plate men
England 85 (3) beat India 81 (1)

Open women
Australia 121 (4) beat South Africa 52 (0)

Under 22 men
Australia 68 (2) beat New Zealand 66 (2)

Under 22 women
Australia 92 (3) beat New Zealand 54 (1)

Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance

Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.

Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.

The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.

HAJJAN
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About Okadoc

Date started: Okadoc, 2018

Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Healthcare

Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth

Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February

Investors: Undisclosed

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin

Director: Shawn Levy

Rating: 3/5

Defence review at a glance

• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”

• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems

• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.

• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%

• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade

• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels

Updated: November 09, 2022, 12:02 PM`