Thaindian News

May 30, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): The 36 year old Jonathan Trappe, a resident of Raleigh, North Carolina surprised one and all when he managed to cross the English Channel with the aid of a bunch of helium balloons.

The flight started early this Friday morning from Kent located in South East England. He managed to lower himself on a cabbage patch which was situated on the French side of the channel. He landed by simply cutting away a few of the balloons that proved to be trustworthy on the long flight over the stretch of English Channel.

Trappe seemed elated when contacted by the Sky News Television and described his adventure to be a peaceful and exceptional experience. On being asked the reason he just said that he fancied floating along by clutching a handful of balloons. It was a dream which he felt was shared by the nations on both the sides and this adventure was a unique way of making his fantasy come true.
However, the entire journey was not that simple. He had to get hold of an oxygen system, beacons for emergency situations, aircraft transponder as well as aircraft radios before he could venture out on his flight. Obtaining an all clear signal from both sides of the border particularly from the aviation and the customs and immigration had been mandatory as well.

The French Police also said that he paid a small sum for damages as he came down on the crops of a French farmer. Trappe is also claimed to hold the record for the longest free flowing balloon flight which lasted all of 14 hours and took him across 109 miles of North Carolina territory.