Fusion Man for president

Yves “Fusion Man” Rossy’s personal jetpack flight over the English Channel was just about the only good thing that happened in the world today: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images   ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images Rossy, a pilot who normally flies an Airbus airliner, crossed the 22 miles between Calais and Dover at speeds of up to 120 mph ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
592341_080926_rossy15.jpg
592341_080926_rossy15.jpg

Yves "Fusion Man" Rossy's personal jetpack flight over the English Channel was just about the only good thing that happened in the world today:

Yves “Fusion Man” Rossy’s personal jetpack flight over the English Channel was just about the only good thing that happened in the world today:

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images
 

ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images

Rossy, a pilot who normally flies an Airbus airliner, crossed the 22 miles between Calais and Dover at speeds of up to 120 mph in 13 minutes, his spokesman said.

When the white cliffs of Dover came into view, he opened a blue and yellow parachute and drifted down in light winds to land in a British field where he was mobbed by well-wishers.

“Everything was perfect,” he said afterwards. “I showed that it is possible to fly a little bit like a bird.”

Joshua Keating is a former associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

Read More On Britain | France

More from Foreign Policy

Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.
Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak

Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.

Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.
Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.

Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage

The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.

A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.
A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.

The West’s False Choice in Ukraine

The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.

Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi
Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi

The Masterminds

Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.