Stephane Rousson
is going to attempt the FIRST CHANNEL CROSSING with a muscular powered airship
For five years Stephane has devoted his life to achieving his dream. On 14 March 2006 in Fréjus, he realised the first solo flight above the sea with a muscular powered airship ans on June 10th 2008 he made a first attempt to cross the English Channel but the winds were too heavy and he was forced to postpone the crossing.
© dppi/julien girardot
This attempt at crossing the English Channel between Hythe and Wissant (45km) is risky: Stéphane must look for the rare weather slot (wind-speed: maximum 8 km/h, direction: sector 280 West) and take a lot of parameters into account: the atmospheric pressure, the tide, the air temperature and the solar radiation. He must also handle the sea traffic: to avoid being swept away by ascending currents Stéphane will fly at a height of 30 meters, which is precisely the same as the 250 cargo boats which cross in the English Channel each day.
For all these reasons, Stephane will have to wait for the perfect weather conditions to take off. It is a real organisational, technological and physical challenge and through this "sustainable" crossing, Stephane hopes to promote renewable energy and environemental protection.
FR3