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French 'flying man' succeeds in bid to cross English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  perrie-halpern  •  5 years ago  •  9 comments

French 'flying man' succeeds in bid to cross English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard
Franky Zapata abandoned a previous attempt after failing to land on a refuelling platform and falling into the sea.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



By   Reuters


SANGATTE, France — French inventor Franky Zapata on Sunday succeeded in crossing the English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard he designed, after a   previous ended with him falling into the sea .

Standing on a platform powered by five small jet engines and carrying kerosene in a backpack, Zapata took off from Sangatte, just outside Calais in France early Sunday morning, trailed by three helicopters.


He reached Britain just over 20 minutes later, waving to onlookers before landing safely in Saint Margaret's Bay, close to Dover on Britain's southern coast, according to French television images.

"For the last five to six kilometres I just really enjoyed it," Zapata told reporters on arrival. "Whether this is a historic event or not, I'm not the one to decide that, time will tell."

"We made a machine three years ago...and now we've crossed the Channel, it's crazy," he said, before breaking into tears.

Zapata's biggest challenge was refuelling with another backpack halfway through the journey across the Strait of Dover, which required landing on a platform mounted on a boat.

On his first attempt to make the crossing on July 25, Zapata was knocked off balance in the process and fell. The inventor used a bigger boat and platform this time.

Zapata, 40, is dubbed "Flyman" by French media.

He wowed crowds during France's Bastille Day celebrations on July 14 by soaring over a military parade in Paris on the device.





He   told Le Parisien newspaper   last month that Bastille Day was “easy” in comparison to crossing the English Channel.

“I used 3 percent of the capacity of the machine, while for crossing the Channel I’ll need 99.9 percent,” he said, adding that he believed he had a 30 percent chance of making it across to England.

The hoverboard is powered by five small jet engines and has a 1500 horsepower, according to Reuters. Zapata steers his craft by leaning forward or backward and controls the thrust with a throttle, the news agency added.

At first, French maritime authorities refused to permit the flight saying it was too dangerous to cross because of the number of vessels in the Channel, according to Le Parisien.

The Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

The former jet ski champion's first bid to cross the approximately 22 mile stretch of water on a hoverboard was meant to coincide with the 110th anniversary of the first-ever flight across the English Channel in an airplane, achieved by Louis Blériot.









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Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.    5 years ago

Things that we thought of as just spaceage, are now here. Are there other futuristic inventions to come?

 
 
 
Old Hermit
Sophomore Silent
1.1  Old Hermit  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @1    5 years ago

Well, it may not be flying cars, (Jetsons style), but it's a nice start and gives me hope that I might even get my own Rosie the robot before I check out. ( smile )

tumblr_m7w2yv9DaY1rvjt2vo1_500.gif?resiz

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
1.1.1  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Old Hermit @1.1    5 years ago

The rider resembles Michael J. Fox, who rode skateboards in the movie Back to the Future, and that looks like a flying skateboard.

 
 
 
Old Hermit
Sophomore Silent
1.1.2  Old Hermit  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @1.1.1    5 years ago
The rider resembles Michael J. Fox, who rode skateboards in the movie Back to the Future, and that looks like a flying skateboard.

Ha! 

Nothing gets past a Cinephilia like you Buzz. (smile)

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
1.1.3  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Old Hermit @1.1.2    5 years ago

AHA!  It's two different scenes - the first from the movie, and the other from somewhere else. LOL

 
 
 
Enoch
Masters Quiet
1.2  Enoch  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @1    5 years ago

The plastic used to bind six packs of beer together get tossed into lakes, rives, oceans etc.

Fish get caught in them and suffocate to death.

They need to swim to extract oxygen from the water through their gills.

I look forward to beer and other six pack can binders being made out of beef jerky.

Fisherman and sailors have no binders to toss in the ocean.

They do have a snack to go with their beverages while out on the water or shorleine.

The cans can be exchanged for a nickel back a piece.

Saving aquatic wildlife isn't dramatic space age technology.

Ask any fins and scales fish how they feel about the idea.

Enoch, Fly casting at Salmon Creek and the High Falls are of the Genessee River.

 

 
 
 
TᵢG
Professor Principal
2  TᵢG    5 years ago

This certainly makes me feel like I am living in the future.  jrSmiley_82_smiley_image.gif

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
3  Buzz of the Orient    5 years ago

When I saw the article, the first thing that entered my mind was the movie "Viva Zapata", which starred Marlon Brando. (Word association)

 
 
 
GregTx
PhD Guide
4  GregTx    5 years ago

I read another article about this yesterday. While it's certainly exciting one of the things that caught my cynical eye was that a company that is Investing in the technology is a defense contractor.

 
 

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