People were amazed when, in May, I became the first person to fly across the English Channel under a large cluster of toy balloons. They compared me to the old guy in the movie Up. But this was real – there were dangers to address and it took many months to prepare.

I first became interested in this form of flight the way most people do. When you see a balloon as a child, you start to wonder, “If I just got enough of these, couldn't I go into the sky?” You're usually told by sensible adults that this is not possible. I'm 37 now, but when I lift off in a chair attached to a towering cluster of helium-filled balloons, I see true amazement and wonder in the eyes of children and their parents.

I'm American, and work as a technical projects manager for Accenture in Raleigh, North Carolina, but I wanted to fly the Channel because it is iconic – a classic challenge that has called to aviators for generations.