Rocket Man Crosses the English Channel Using Jet Pack

by Rob Walker | September 26, 2008 at 06:51 am

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A swissair pilot named Yves Rossy crossed the English Channel from Calais to Dover with a jetpack strapped to his back, a single fixed-wing jet-propelled device he made himself.

After numerous postponements due to poor weather, Rossy succesfully jumped from a plane flying about 8,800 feet and fired up his jets. He made the trip in under fifteen minutes.

He made the 22-mile trip from Calais in France to Dover in England in a little under 15 minutes.
He began the Friday flight just before 1207 GMT; by 12:15 GMT, Rossy was above British soil and looped over onlookers before opening his parachute, with his wings still strapped to his back.

He touched down in a field near the famous white cliffs of Dover.