Model Boat Mayhem
Mess Deck: General Section => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: The long Build on September 25, 2008, 09:11:05 pm
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Poor weather conditions have scuppered a Swiss adventurer's record-breaking attempt to become the first person to fly solo across the English Channel using a single jet-propelled wing.
Yves Rossy, known as Fusionman, was due to jump from a plane more than 8,200ft (2,500m) above ground, then fire up jets on his home-made wing and soar across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
But a late build-up of cloud in the Dover area of Kent put paid to the attempt and it is now looking likely that it will take place on Friday instead.
It is the second setback for 49-year-old Rossy who earlier this week had to postpone the bid, again due to poor weather conditions.
Speaking from Calais, where he was due to take off, Rossy said he "only had one life" and that it was too dangerous to attempt the feat.
He said: "My eyes are my best instruments and in these conditions it's just too dangerous."
Rossy, a former military pilot, aimed to trace the route of French aviation pioneer Louis Bleriot, who became the first person to fly across the Channel in a plane 99 years ago.
Flying at speeds approaching 125mph, the 22-mile televised flight across the Channel was expected to have taken Rossy around 12 minutes to complete.
To achieve the feat, Rossy - a pilot with Swiss International Air Lines - would have had to overcome significant challenges, not least the container ships which will be passing through the sea.
In an interview earlier this week, he said: "If I calculate everything right, I will land in Dover. But if I get it wrong, I take a bath."
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7104898430798485644
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Now i like extreme sports BUT this is INSANE :o......
wonder if Heathrow will open a new terminal for when solo flights become available ::)
Jay
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wonder if Heathrow will open a new terminal for when solo flights become available ::)
Probably - with a great big graveyard at the end of the runway...
(you've got to admire the guy though, that really takes balls)!
Malc
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"If I calculate everything right, I will land in Dover. But if I get it wrong, I take a bath."
There is a third option, he may end up as a blemish on the White Cliffs...
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maybe in 50 years that'l be how everyone will travel to work :D
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Well it certainly beats the ques in the airport terminals
Stavros
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Well, He made it then...brilliant. O0
I don't think I'd find jet engines big enough to get me airborne though :D {-) ;D
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Here's a man doing what we all dreamed of doing when we were kids...I love it and more power to his crazy but fascinating elbow!
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watch some jobsworth try to have him charged as an illegal immigrant...........bet he didn't pack his passport,lol {-) {-) :D
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Nice one..
watch some jobsworth try to have him charged as an illegal immigrant...........bet he didn't pack his passport,lol {-) {-) :D
Now that would be an interesting point, as On the occasion of my wifes channel swim and numerous relays she has been in they have had to take theirs.
And they have also brought out a small free game already.
http://jetmanlive.com/game?refid=widget