http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7637327.stm"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
A Swiss man has become the first person to fly solo across the English Channel using a single jet-propelled wing. Yves Rossy landed safely after the 22-mile (35.4 km) flight from Calais to Dover.
"Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds...and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of...wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence.
The 49-year-old flew on a plane to more than 8,200ft, ignited jets on a wing on his back, and jumped out. Mr Rossy had hoped to reach speeds of 125mph.
"Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
The wing had no rudder or tail fin, so Mr Rossy had to steer it using his head and back.
"Up, up, the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, nor even eagle flew.
In Dover, Mr Rossy flew past South Foreland lighthouse and looped onlookers before landing in a field.
"And while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space...
...put out my hand, and touched the face of God."
It felt "great, really great", said Mr Rossy: "I only have one word, thank you, to all the people who did it with me" ...adding his success signalled "big potential" for people to fly "a little bit like a bird" in the future.
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
A Swiss man has become the first person to fly solo across the English Channel using a single jet-propelled wing. Yves Rossy landed safely after the 22-mile (35.4 km) flight from Calais to Dover.
"Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds...and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of...wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence.
The 49-year-old flew on a plane to more than 8,200ft, ignited jets on a wing on his back, and jumped out. Mr Rossy had hoped to reach speeds of 125mph.
"Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
The wing had no rudder or tail fin, so Mr Rossy had to steer it using his head and back.
"Up, up, the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, nor even eagle flew.
In Dover, Mr Rossy flew past South Foreland lighthouse and looped onlookers before landing in a field.
"And while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space...
...put out my hand, and touched the face of God."
It felt "great, really great", said Mr Rossy: "I only have one word, thank you, to all the people who did it with me" ...adding his success signalled "big potential" for people to fly "a little bit like a bird" in the future.
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