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  [PHOTO STORY|READY TO WEAR] Models wear creations by Dutch fashion designer Marlies Dekkers as part of her Spring-Summer 2009 ready-to-wear collection presented in Paris on Sunday, September 28, 2008. Photo credit: AP Photo/Thibault Camus

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LILLE, FRANCE: Unfavourable winds on Sunday (September 28th) forced a Frenchman to abandon his latest attempt to cross the English Channel in a pedal-powered airship, his support team said.

Stephane Rousson had made it half-way across the Channel from England when he decided to give up, they said.

He had left from a beach near the English port of Dover headed for Wissant in northern France, 45 kilometres (28 miles) to the south.

The attempt came two days after a Swiss adventurer successfully made the trip using only a jet-powered wing.

Rousson, 39, made a first attempt to cross the Channel suspended from his helium-filled miniature Zeppelin in June but was forced to give up due to strong winds.

He flies in a reclining position, 30 metres above the sea, and navigates by using two large propellers, one on each side of his seat under the balloon.

In March 1993, Nicolas Hulot and Gerard Feldzer abandoned their bid to cross the Atlantic in a pedal-powered airship after flying 1,500 kilometres.

French inventor Louis Bleriot was the first person to fly across the English Channel in a plane 99 years ago, taking 37 minutes for the trip.