Rocketman Crosses The English Channel (Without Killing Himself)

Remember that crazy Swiss dude that flies his own jet powered flying wing? Well, today he made history by flying that contraption across the English Channel from Calais, France to Dover, England. The picture above shows him after he popped his landing parachute while coming in to land near the White Cliffs of Dover. Yves Rossy actually had to leap from an aircraft at 8,800 feet to get his homemade deathtrap jet-pack airborne. There's just not enough power in the four tiny turbines strapped to his wings to get him off the ground without a flying start. The carbon composite wing weighs 121 pounds with a full load of fuel and the entire deice is controlled by Rossy moving his body. Hundreds of spectators turned out to see the adventurist make the historic flight and it was even covered live by the National Geographic Channel. Nice job, now let's see him do it transatlantic!

AP Photo
[CNN]

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