Waiting For Calm Winds To Launch Helium-Filled Dirigible

 Stephane Rousson, a 39-year-old French extreme sports enthusiast, awaits calm conditions to make his second attempt to cross the English Channel is his pedal-powered airship. Seeking to promote awareness of renewable energy and protection of the environment with his venture, Rousson hopes to depart from Hythe Beach in Kent, England for the coastal village of Wissant, France.

If successful, his flight will mark the first pedal-powered lighter-than-air crossing of the English Channel. BBC reports Rousson failed to make the historic journey last June,

Fornier's Attempt dashed by breakaway balloon!

Michel Fornier's 3rd attempt to break three skydiving records including that held by Col. Joe Kittinger, ended today in calamity as his giant helium balloon appeared to break away from its mooring while being inflated. The balloon sailed off into the sky but without Fornier and his capsule. What at first was thought to be an accident was later reported by the Canadian media as possibly a deliberate abort because of a technical malfunction.

Celestial Eagle pilots Troy Bradley and Peter Cuneo, with the advice of their meteorologists and the flight team, have decided to abandon their attempt to make a gas balloon crossing of the Pacific Ocean this year. The pilots and team will put their equipment into storage in Japan with the intent of attempting the flight during the 2008-09 winter season.

Team meteorologists Lou Billones and Don Day have been carefully monitoring the weather conditions and have concluded that the weather will not improve enough in the next two weeks to allow for a safe crossing this season.