By Peter Allen

As solo channel crossings go, it was one of the quickest. But then Swiss adventurer Yves Rossy had strapped himself to a jet-propelled wing and thrown himself out of a plane circling 8,000 feet above Calais.

In 13 minutes Rossy - who calls himself Fusionman - completed the 22-mile crossing to Dover and carved out an entry into the history books. He crossed the White Cliffs in nine minutes and took another four minutes to land.

Soaring at more than 100mph over one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, the 49-year-old landed in a field after deploying his parachute.

He told waiting reporter: 'It felt great, really great. I only have one word to all the people who helped me - thanks.'

Rossy, an airline pilot, traced the route of French aviation pioneer Louis  Bleriot who became the first person to fly across the Channel in a plane 99  years ago.

It was third time lucky for Rossy, who had to twice postpone the attempt  earlier this week because of poor weather. 

On Thursday, a late build-up of cloud in Dover hampered visibility and forced the second postponement but today Rossy enjoyed virtually cloudless skies
Inside the plane Rossy had exchanged 'high fives' with his crew before he balanced himself on a step thousands of feet above ground with his compressed  wing strapped to his back.

Final checks were then carried out on his wing before his jets were fired up  and he leapt from the aircraft and across the Channel.

Minutes later he came into view for the scores of watchers gathered on top of  the White Cliffs of Dover.

Rossy completed a few loops in the sky beyond the landing site before making  his descent and deploying his parachute and landing next to the South Foreland  lighthouse
After landing with a bump, he waved and smiled as ambulance crews stood by.

The daredevil challenge by Rossy has led to him being compared to Superman and  Buzz Lightyear, the computer-generated character from the animated film Toy  Story.

Rossy reviewed safety measures before take-off in Calais, especially important  as his jet-propelled wing needs to be ignited while still inside the plane.

He had never flown for longer than 10 minutes and his wing weight and  measurements were precise, with even the addition of a tiny camera possibly  affecting how long he could stay in the air.

In addition, weather conditions had to be perfect for him to fly long enough to  complete the journey.  A helicopter hovered nearby to capture images of him and he was equipped with a  camera mounted on his 8ft-long wing.

Over the past few months, Rossy has been fine-tuning the wing's design and  performance and carried out several test flights in wind tunnels and the Swiss  Alps.

His wing weighed about 120lb with fuel and included four simple,  kerosene-burning jet turbines to keep him airborne.

Created from a lightweight carbon composite, the wing had no steering devices,  meaning Rossy had to use his head and back to control the wing's movement.

He was fitted with a special suit, helmet and parachute to protect him from the  jet turbines mounted just inches from him on the wing.