Yves Rossi "Fusion Man"

Faster than the Eurostar, Fusion Man flew across the Channel

By Joffre Agnes
02/10/2008

When you were getting sick of the Eurostar and its reduced traffic, the Swiss pilot Yves Rossi, 49, found the quickest solution ever to cross the Channel.

Yves Rossi "Fusion Man"

 On Friday 26 September, he literally flew between Calais and Dover and crossed these 22 miles (35,5 km) at speeds of up to 120 mph (193 km/h) in 13 minutes! He was propelled by four kerosene-burning jet turbines attached to a carbon wing on his back! First he was leaped from a plane at more than 2,500 metres above the French port of Calais and guided towards Dover by a support aircraft.

Yves Rossi "Fusion Man"

"Everything was perfect," he said afterwards. "I showed that it is possible to fly a little bit like a bird." A new record: Yves Rossy became the first person to fly across the Channel with just a wing and turbines on his back just as the French aviator Louis Bleriot became the first person to fly across the Channel in a plane in 1909.
Children, don't try it yourself!

Now Yves Rossi plans to fly over the Grand Canyon, taking off from a standing position and performing acrobatics...

Yves Rossi "Fusion Man"