Past Simple 1 Positive Complete the text with the Past Simple form of the verbs in the boxes. Across the Channel in a chair There are many ways to cross from England to France - by boat, plane or Eurostar, for example. But one man chose another form of transport. Jonathan Trappe tied 54 balloons to a chair and floated across the Channel. He became the first person to cross the Channel with balloons filled with helium. Mr Trappe set off from an airfield near Ashford at 5 a.m. He reached a height of 1,200 metres and had a top speed of 40 km/h. The journey was 22 miles, and it took over four hours. He landed in a field in northern France. He controlled his landing by cutting away some of the balloons. He planned the trip carefully. He needed permission from aviation authorities, and he was equipped with sat-nav, radio, and oxygen. What's in the news? Mr Trappe, 36, thinks it's a wonderful way to fly. 'A gas balloon flies in complete silence,' he says. 'I could hear the voices from a height of 300 metres.' As a child, I always had a dream of holding a bunch of balloons and floating away into space. Didn't everybody? The first balloon crossing of the Channel was in 1785. A Frenchman, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, and an American doctor, John Jefferies, flew from Dover to Calais. It took two and a half hours. Jonathan Trappe floats across the Channel.

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