A Swiss man has become the first person to fly solo across the English Channel using a single jet-propelled wing.
Yves Rossy landed safely after the 22-mile (35.4 km) flight from Calais to Dover, which had been twice postponed this week because of bad weather.
The former military pilot took less than 10 minutes to complete the crossing and parachute to the ground.
The 49-year-old flew on a plane to more than 8,200ft (2,500m), ignited jets on a wing on his back, and jumped out.
Mr Rossy had hoped to reach speeds of 125mph.
It felt "great, really great", said Mr Rossy: "I only have one word, thank you, to all the people who did it with me."
He said weather conditions on Friday had been perfect and his success signalled "big potential" for people to fly "a little bit like a bird" in the future.
Known as "Fusionman," he was aiming to follow the route taken by French airman Louis Blériot 99 years ago when he became the first person to fly across the English Channel in a plane.
In Dover, Mr Rossy flew past South Foreland lighthouse - which the building's manager Simon Ovenden said Blériot used as a target during his pioneering flight - and looped onlookers before landing in a field.
"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 spectator from Chatham, in Kent.
Mark Dale, the senior technical officer for the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, described Rossy's flight as a "fabulous stunt".
In an interview earlier this week, Mr Rossy said: "If I calculate everything right, I will land in Dover. But if I get it wrong, I take a bath."
The flight was broadcast live for the National Geographic Channel. Its producer, Kathryn Liptrott, told the BBC Mr Rossy was fearless.
"When we've talked to him and asked him are you worried about risk his quote consistently is: I'm not worried about risk, I manage risk.
"He flew Mirage fighters for the Swiss army, he now flies an Airbus. And in his sort of heart he's a pilot and a parachutist and what they do is manage risk."
The longest flight he had previously taken lasted 10 minutes.
The wing had no rudder or tail fin, so Mr Rossy had to steer it using his head and back.
As well as a helmet and parachute, he wore a special suit to protect him from the four kerosene-burning turbines mounted just centimetres from him on the wing.
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Considering people can and already have made unpowered glides across the Channel via air launch, and then parachuted to a landing too, this is decidedly unspectacular. If he took off from the ground, or had landed without a chute (or best of all, both in one flight)( then it might be a little more meaningful.
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Not really - it's just another propulsion system, like piston engines or, with enough altitude, just plain old gravity.
It's a cool thing to do, but not the most significant aviation record of the decade.
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Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
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I would have been more impressed had he took off from the ground and landed on the other side without a parachute.
But still, I imagine it takes balls of steel to strap a jet engine to your back and cross the busy English Channel. I certainly wouldn't like to drop in the drink with a heavy engine and a set of wings attached to me.
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Actually, it's four engines and a heavy wing. He uses a version of jet turbine engine originally developed for model airplanes.
What is unique is the combination and details of his flying device, not so much the solo Channel crossing (which has been done before). It is small and relatively lightweight, and might be viewed as a rigid hang glider except that the jets allow both level flight and gain of altitude. There are lighter weight flying machines (powered parasails) although for its size it is almost certainly fastest. It is far from the first weight-shit flyer (think hanggliders)
Yeah, it takes balls. It's very cool.
I'm jealous. I want one.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
That's quite likely, although I'm not sure that's tracked.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Sea Skimmer wrote:Considering people can and already have made unpowered glides across the Channel via air launch, and then parachuted to a landing too, this is decidedly unspectacular. If he took off from the ground, or had landed without a chute (or best of all, both in one flight)( then it might be a little more meaningful.
I think the problem with doing either of those is his stall speed is too high for his legs to make it. Now, if he used some sort of trolley thing to reach flight speed...
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Ah, a trolley launch, sort of like an Me 163 Komet launch, but with less tendency to explode, sound intriguing.
Yes, the problem is the landing gear isn't up to jetwing's flying speed.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Beowulf wrote:
I think the problem with doing either of those is his stall speed is too high for his legs to make it. Now, if he used some sort of trolley thing to reach flight speed...
I was thinking a trolley for launch, maybe even one with some kind of cable pull assist so it doesn’t have to be absurdly long. I can see how a landing might just be totally infeasible… In which case he needs afterburners and a variable geometry wing.
"This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree"
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
He could try what I see a lot of first-time skydivers do...that frantic cartoony running-in-place that starts about twenty feet AGL and continues until their feet make touchdown...
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Won't work at speeds above about 15 mph and, given the weight of the weight, is very likely to result in broken bones or dislocated joints. Which is probably why he did the point-landing he actually used.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Stronger turbines with afterburners and a flexible wing would be better. Like the Raging Raven suit I posted up above, the wing emulates that of an avian and the engines are able to produce reheat thrust for jump up into the air moves (the legs are also exoskeletons to help with a decent jump and landing).
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He uses a version of jet turbine engine originally developed for model airplanes.
