Jet-Man Yves Rossy Crossed the English Channel on Jet Wings

Do you remember Jet-Man Yves Rossy, the Swiss pilot who self constructed jet wings made of carbon fiber glass, propelled by small jet engines? Well, that Yves Rossy just made another mark in aviation history by crossing the English Channel on his jet wings.

Yves Rossy launched from an air craft flying at 2500 meters above ground (10 000 feet), unfolded his jet wings and then just flew across the English Channel tracing the route that was first flown Loius Bleriot, French aviator in 1909. It took jet-man 12 minutes to fly from Calais, France to Dover, England with a single set of jet wings on his back reaching speeds of 118mph. English Channel is 35 km (23 miles) long. He landed by The South Foreland Lighthouse.

Yves Rossy is a former Swiss air pilot now focusing on development and testing of his homemade jet wings that could be used for self air travel in the future. He was first heard of earlier this year after his successful attempt to fly over Swiss Alps and now he’s done the English Channel.

Jet-Man’s flight over the English Channel was first scheduled for Thursday, but was postponed due to deteriorated weather. As Yves Rossy explains, he doesn’t use any instruments and it would be impossible to land if you can’t see the ground. The following day, September 26, 2008 turned out to be good enough for flying so they went ahead with it and as you can see in the video below, it was a success. 99 years after Loius Bleriot made first flight over The English Channel in an air craft, a Swiss man called Yves Rossy traced the same air route this time flying on his wings. Jet man landed after his fuel run out.

Jet-Man Yves Rossy Image Credit: Getty Images

Further Reading:

• Yves Rossy – Jetman Flies over Bex, Switzerland (video)

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