Smith, Greg dot com

In 1977 a team led by Paul B. MacCready, a noted US aeronautics engineer, designer, and world soaring champion built the Gossamer Condor and with it won the first Kremer prize for a human-powered aircraft by completing a specified figure-eight course. They next set the goal of crossing the English Channel.

They went on to develop and extend the design of the Condor into the Gossamer Albatross, capable of longer flight.

The Gossamer Albatross was constructed using a carbon fiber frame, with the ribs of the wings made with expanded polystyrene; the entire structure was then wrapped in a thin, transparent plastic. The empty mass of the structure was only 71 lb, although the gross mass for the Channel flight was almost 220 lb (because it had a 149 pound cyclist in it). To maintain the craft in the air it was designed with very long tapering wings (high aspect ratio), like those of a glider, allowing the flight to be undertaken with a minimum of power.

It was powered using pedals to drive a large two-bladed propeller. Piloted by amateur cyclist Bryan Allen, it completed the 22.2 mi crossing in 2 hours and 49 minutes, achieving a top speed of 18 mph and an average altitude of 5 feet.

Yeah, you read that right: 5 feet over the water. Average height. I'm just imagining Bryan Allen, pedaling away, starting to dip down and seeing the bottom of the craft just about hit the sea swells a couple of feet below. Pedal, Bryan, pedal!!!

The aircraft used in the channel crossing is on display at the Smithsonian Institution's new Air and Space Museum annex at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC. Here's an interesting video about the development of the Albatross:

On this same theme, about thirty years later another inventor and pioneer found a new way to fly across the Channel. Meet Yves Rossy, former Swiss Air Force fighter pilot, current Airbus 320 pilot for Swiss Air, but best known as "Jet Man." He crossed the Channel on September 26, 2008.