Is this jet-pack guy making a low-tech return trip?

I was terribly disappointed his name wasn't Cid.

Man tries to pedal an airship 28 miles across water to France... who's hoping he sinks?

oh, i get it.

he's pedalling and therefore considered a bicyclist.

Named after his ex-girlfriend.
Gee, an unemployed pilot who spends most of his free time attempting to complete a meaningless voyage, and he's single???

Oh the smallmanity!

Have they surrendered yet?

Paul McCready unimpressed.

/sky nerd

A Frenchman inspired by the classic film ET...

I made it this far.

If he went from France to England he wouldnt exen have to pedal.

If he is pedaling into the wind, he might want to make it a tandem bike and get Lance Armstrong.

I hope he makes it! Did a GIS, and his rig is pretty cool. My 5-yr-old asked the fundamental question: what if he has to poop?

The 16-metre-long helium-filled blimp, nicknamed "Miss Louise" after his former girlfriend

Not a smooth breakup, I'm guessing.

Cosmic Crab: The 16-metre-long helium-filled blimp, nicknamed "Miss Louise" after his former girlfriend

Not a smooth breakup, I'm guessing.

I wonder if he'll be riding it hard

hitler was a hardcore liberal: tell your 5 year old that he sh][ts in these

He's a balloonist, not an astronaut.

TTIUWOP

FarkinNortherner: hitler was a hardcore liberal: tell your 5 year old that he sh][ts in these

He's a balloonist, not an astronaut.

So he'll just hang it over the side?

So he named a round, fat, ungainly inanimate object after his girlfriend.

/why is he single?

Next, Ron Obvious will eat Chichester Cathedral.

You forgot "France Surrenders," subby

/obligatory

\not impressed

Approves.

SithLord: \not impressed

My dream is to become an eccentric billionaire with my own airship a la FF

skcubrats: The flying frog failed already...

Followup FAIL

OothaWatha: I hope he makes it! Did a GIS, and his rig is pretty cool. My 5-yr-old asked the fundamental question: what if he has to poop?

It was only supposed to be a 5 hour trip

/magnificently hotlinked

Wonder how many folks will surrender once he lands...

/All of them
//ftw

Why would you hope he sinks?

/Other than the obvious 'being a complete sad asshat who resents anybody else having the success you yourself could never achieve'.

Man pedals an airship 28 miles across water to France; France surrenders.

DAHFreedom: /magnificently hotlinked

Off topic, why is it necessary to mention that a hotlinked photo is hotlinked? What else would it be, coldlinked? Chain linked? Sausage linked?

Assimilate This: DAHFreedom: /magnificently hotlinked

Off topic, why is it necessary to mention that a hotlinked photo is hotlinked? What else would it be, coldlinked? Chain linked? Sausage linked?

it's basically dork etiquette for stealing bandwidth from some random site.

sort of like 10 hail marys

skink: Paul McCready unimpressed.

/sky nerd

Ditto. Been done with far more at risk...

Someone's een trouble!

GoldDude: Gee, an unemployed pilot who spends most of his free time attempting to complete a meaningless voyage, and he's single???

Yeah, journeys of personal exploration and achievement are so retarded. We should never aspire to do something difficult or previously untried....

queezyweezel: GoldDude: Gee, an unemployed pilot who spends most of his free time attempting to complete a meaningless voyage, and he's single???

Yeah, journeys of personal exploration and achievement are so retarded. We should never aspire to do something difficult or previously untried....

exactly, why bother.

Is jealous.

If he is in an airship, isn't it expected to sink under pilot control at the end of his trip?

16 metres major axis, and approx 5.1 metre minor axis by my measurements (from a higher res image). Simplifying the calculation as a simple ellipsoid, I get an lift volume of approx 210 m³.
At normal air sea-level temperature and pressure, helium's lift is surprisingly close to 1 kg/m³, so let's call it about 200 kg of total lift on that thing.
Sounds about right for a minimalist airship.

Too bad the wind conditions weren't right. I wish him luck on his next attempt.

Airships f██king rock.
One day soon they will rule the skies again.
Fuel prices will soon condemn everyday heavier-than-air flight to an historical aberration. Computer assisted avionics and solar power are not far away from making these vehicles viable without huge operating costs and massive ground crews.
The only real remaining hurdle is the relative scarcity of helium on this planet (the only significant source is separation from natural gas sources in Canada, the US and Russia).

Phone_Answering_Monkey: Why would you hope he sinks?

/Other than the obvious 'being a complete sad asshat who resents anybody else having the success you yourself could never achieve'.

THIS
Subby must be a douchebag.

Zeppelin: It's not a balloon! D'you hear?... It's not a balloon ... It's an airship ... an airship ... d'you hear?

(He hits him very hard on the top of the head with the underside of his fist.)

Von Bulow: Well, it's very nice anyway.

Tirpitz: (to Zeppelin) Tell me, what is the principle of these balloons?

Zeppelin: It's not a balloon! You stupid little thick-headed Saxon git! It's not a balloon! Balloons is for kiddy-winkies. If you want to play with balloons, get outside.

(Drags Tirpitz over to the door, opens it and flings him out into the clouds.)

Tirpitz: Aaaaaaaaaghhh!

Oh, vait. He said airship. My mistake!

Ha! Ha! Puckrock2000 got in with the first Monty Python reference of the thread, but I got in with the right reference. Ha! Ha!

Actually, it's a pretty good reference. It's on topic but avoids the obvious.

I really think this is quite cool. Go French guy!

Reminds me of the time I saw over the Long Beach Boardwalk in NY, a guy flying a chair. He had a motor on it and he actually was flying himself over the boardwalk and the ocean. It was amazing looking. He also was being chased by the cops for his stunt but that was a different story.

No Ticket!

Unimpressed

/but just because doing it in a truck is so cool.

/obligatory