"It's the only form of air travel that happens in complete silence," said a glowing American aviator after he made history by crossing the English Channel using only helium-filled balloons.

Jonathan Trappe 36, is now the first cluster balloonist to cross the stretch of water.

The "Up"-esque explorer took three hours to float across the Channel to Dunkirk, France, where he landed butt-first in a cabbage patch.

At his peak Trappe was floating at 7,500 feet hitting speeds of 19 mph. Once over France he cut away balloons to descend. As one onlooker said: "What happens if he drops the scissors?"

On arrival, Mr Trappe told Sky, "Wasn't it everybody's dream? I mean, didn't you have this dream -- grabbing onto a bunch of toy balloons and floating off?"

He explained how it felt: "Right over the white cliffs of Dover in complete silence. It was tremendously peaceful, tremendously beautiful ... it was just an exceptionally quiet, peaceful experience."

It would have been less peaceful had he realized any of the potential threats that included drowning and hitting power lines. Keep reading to see footage.

Our man heads to earth:


And a touch-down interview next to some cabbages: