Swiss man leaps from plane to fly homemade jet wing across English Channel

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This article was published 26/09/2008 (6573 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DOVER, England – A Swiss daredevil crossed the English Channel strapped to a homemade jet-propelled wing Friday, parachuting into a field near the white cliffs of Dover after a 10-minute solo flight.

Yves Rossy leapt from a plane at more than 2,500 metres, then fired up his wing for the 35-kilometre trip from Calais, France.

Rossy passed over a thin strip of land in front of South Foreland lighthouse, looped over onlookers and opened his parachute, his jet-propelled wing still strapped to his back.

“It was perfect. Blue sky, sunny, no clouds, perfect conditions,” he said. “We prepared everything and it was great.”

The trip across the channel is meant to trace the route of French aviator Louis Bleriot, the first person to cross in an airplane 99 years ago.

The lighthouse was the site of Guglielmo Marconi’s experiments with radio telegraphy in’98. Bleriot used the white building as a target during his pioneering flight, the building’s manager, Simon Ovenden, said.

Several hundred spectators rushed to greet Rossy, trying to take photographs with cameras and cellphones.

“It’s a remarkable achievement, we saw the climax of his attempt as he came down to earth with his parachute. It’s been an exciting afternoon,” said Geoff Clark, a 54-year-old onlooker from Chatham, in Kent.

The carbon composite-wing weighs about 55 kilograms when loaded with fuel, and carried four kerosene-burning jet turbines that kept him aloft.

The wing had no steering devices – Rossy moved his body to control its movements.

He wore a heat-resistant suit similar to that worn by firefighters and racing drivers to protect him from the heat of the turbines. The cooling effect of the wind and high altitude also prevented him from getting too hot.

Mark Dale, the senior technical officer for the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, described Rossy’s flight as a “fabulous stunt.”