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A daredevil whose cluster balloon flights in office chairs made him a worldwide star has begun his attempt to cross the English Channel. Jonathan R. Trappe is bidding to become the first person to cross the stretch of water by helium balloon.
His zany attempt, which is being tracked live on Sky News from 4am BST, will see him use a wicker basket rather than the 'chairway to heaven' that made his name. Trappe set off from Kent Gliding Club in Challock, near Ashford, just after 5am, although where he will finish remains up in the air.
"Part of the adventure is you don't know when you need to land," he told Sky News, in a break from his final preparations. "The Channel is such an iconic challenge and has called to aviators for generations. The English Channel, the White Cliffs of Dover - I'm American and it even calls to me."
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