Cheapest car insurance news
14/06/2010
Up, up and away for cross channel balloon flyer
He didn't need cheap car insurance, but the daring adventurer who became the first person to cross the English Channel by helium balloons probably needed a serious life insurance policy to cover the attempt.
At 5am on 28th May 2010, Jonathan Trappe, a 36-year-old technical projects manager from the US, strapped himself to a chair, held on tight to several dozen large inflated helium balloons and in an adventure reminiscent of the Pixar film, Up, set off from a Kent field to fly across the 22-mile stretch of sea.
Although initially being blown towards Belgium, he eventually landed in cabbage field near Dunkirk, France at 9.05am and he told waiting reporters, "It was just an exceptional, quiet, peaceful experience.
'I think it's something that's shared across cultures and across borders. Just this wonderful fantasy of grabbing on to toy balloons and floating into open space."
Of course, the safety of the balloon pilot was paramount and a committed team of 12 aviation enthusiasts turned up at Kent Gliding Club in Challock, near Ashford to help with the logistics of the flight.
Former pilot, Tony Holden was one of the assistants.
"I am pleased about the immense detail he has gone into. Navigation, clearance, security, the weather," the 60-year-old commented.
"He has gone through every detail. Its all 100 per cent. I am really impressed in the organisation and the quality."
So, next time you are stuck at Folkstone in a queue of cars waiting to board a cross-channel ferry, contemplating the joys of cheap car insurance and generally feeling that car travel isn't what it used to be, perhaps you should look skywards, because you just don't know what might be floating overhead.