Great Chitter Chatter - Stories from Loud Voices

With all the build up to this event, I can tell you now that it was well worth the wait. Swiss adventurer and pilot Yves Rossy has now officially entered the book of records, after becoming the first person to fly across the channel using only a single jet propelled wing.

The 49 year old had to initially call of his flight, due to dangerous weathers and claiming that he did not want to put his life at risk. But after touching down he is said to have been ecstatic.

He flew across the channel in around 10 minutes. Rossy arrived in Dover where before touching down, he flew over onlookers. The flight had initially started out in Calais where Mr Rossy was taken 2,500m high in a light aircraft. He then mightily jumped out of the aeroplane and pulled on his cord, which gave him a 6 foot wing span. He then dived for around 5 seconds so that he could pick up speeds of around 200mph before straightening himself out.

The actual wings themselves do not really have any sort of steering control, so Mr Rossy had to use body movements and control of his head and back as an alternative.

So after a successful flight what can we expect from the world in the fore coming years? Will single manned flight be a thing of the future? It definitely looks that way in my eyes. To be honest the wings that Yves Rossy actually wore could be easily replicated to a mass market. Although he had to jump from an aeroplane, what is there to say that future technological advancements cannot see the wings being created into actual flying apparatus? What I specifically mean by this is that wings can only be used for gliding, they will have to implement a kind of hidden propeller, so that you can control throttle making it easier to land.

Flying cars may be a long way off, as they are dangerous and could be potentially uncontrollable by the law, but manned flight is an aspect that inventors and companies should really look into. How much easier would it be for the local commuter? Or a parent in a rush to pick up there kids?

Obviously you will not be able to just use them to go on Caribbean holidays, but for short distances they could really come in handy to the whole world.