Swiss adventurer postones record flight attempt across Channel

switzerland flagLondon - Swiss adventurer Yves Rossi, also known as Fusionman, Thursday postponed a record-breaking attempt to become the first person to fly solo across the English Channel between Britain and France using a single jet-propelled wing.

Rossy, 49, was due to jump from a plane more than 2,500 metres above ground, then fire up jets on his home-made wing and soar across the Channel from Calais in France to Dover in southern Britain.

But clouds over Dover Thursday forced the second cancellation this week of the flight. A further attempt will be made Friday.

Speaking from Calais, Rossy said he "only had one life" and that it was too dangerous to attempt the feat.

Rossy, a former Swiss airline pilot, aims to follow the flightpath of French aviation pioneer Louis Bleriot, who became the first person to fly across the Channel in a plane in
1909.

He is due to cross the 35-kilometre stretch at speeds approaching 200-kilometres per hour - hoping to make the crossing in 12 minutes.

His wing weighs about 55 kilograms with fuel and includes four simple, kerosene-burning jet turbines to keep him airborne.

Created from a lightweight carbon composite, the wing has no steering devices, meaning that Rossy will have to use his head and back to control the wing's movement.

"I fly with my body," he told the Times in an interview Thursday. (dpa)

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