Jetpacks!

Swiss man crossed the English channel in under 10 minutes. 22 miles from calais to dover. 49 years old this guy was! An ex fighter pilot, granted, but even so, 125 mph is rather fast flying in the air.

He did win £1,000 from the Daily Mail, 100 years after they started the competition, although I doubt this was his initial target,as I guessing it cost a lot more than that to put on.

It started with a 8,200 feet climb in a light aircraft (sort of cheating really), and then jumped out and flew using the jet pack with wings. The wing span is 8.2 feet, weighing in at a total of 121 lb. The actual decent took another 3 minuets, making a total of 13 minuets from flight to ground.

There was no obvious steering mechanism on the actual wings. He just used his head and back to change direction. Clever. The suit was fireproof, exactly the same type of suit used to protect those racing in formula one races, protecting them from the jet exhausts.

Looks like a big risk, crossing the channel, however he is quoted as not being scared of risk. “I manage risk”, seems like a rather suitable answer to such a question.

I find it odd that this came after the flight to the moon. Although I guess this was more complicated? Maybe?

Your Thoughts?

via [BBC]