Swiss Man Crosses English Channel in a Jet Pack

Forget the web for a while. Living every boy’s and man’s dream of strapping on a jetpack and flying the skies is exactly what Swiss aviator Yves Rossy did.  For the first time in history, a man in a jet pack crosses the English channel.

Yves Rossy is a pilot and aviation enthusiast who just succeeded flying from Calais France to the white cliffs of Dover in the United Kingdom covering about 27 miles of sea over the English channel.  He flew not in a plane but with a home made jet pack strapped to his back.  The jet pack is powered by four kerosene jet engines which are larger versions of the jet engines used in remote controlled model planes.  To achieve horizontal flight, the jet pack has a pair of wings which allow the pilot to soar through the air and maintain lift.  To start the flight, the pilot jumps out of a plane, unfolds the wings while free falling and starts the engines.  Landing is simply done by parachuting.

Rossy built the jet pack in his own garage and first took flight in 2004.  After which he continued refining and perfecting his flying skills for his historic flight today over the English channel.  The jet pack cost Rossy and his team about $190000 to build.

Today’s flight is a milestone in aviation history much like a hundred years ago when the first flight over the channel was achieved and ushered in the age of the airplanes.  With the demonstration of the jet pack’s capability, it’s expected that other people and even aircraft manufacturers would build their own versions and probably usher in the age of the jet pack.  Or something like that.

I know that this has nothing to do with the web or even computers but that jetpack is soooo cool!  I bet that every boy young and old would want one for Christmas. 

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