Hoverboard crossing of English Channel scuttled by fall into sea
A fall into the sea scuttled French inventor Franky Zapata's attempt to cross the English Channel on a jet-powered Flyboard.
(CNN) — A fall into the sea scuttled French inventor Franky Zapata’s attempt to cross the English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard.
Halfway through the 22-mile crossing, as Zapata attempted to land on a boat for refueling, he missed the landing platform and fell into the water. He was not injured.
The plan had been for a 20-minute crossing from Sangatte, in France, to St. Margaret’s Bay, England. Zapata, 40, took off around 9 a.m. local time.
Video from his launch showed Zapata climbing up onto a platform in the French coastal town, stepping onto the Flyboard Air and heading toward the Channel.
The flyboard looks like a chunky skateboard and, powered by five small engines, can reach speeds of nearly 90 miles an hour. It is fueled by kerosene, which Zapata carried 104 pounds of in his backpack, Agence France-Presse reported.
He was due to pick up a second pack of kerosene at the mid-Channel refueling stop.
The flyboard can reach altitudes of 500 feet, but Zapata planned to stick to 50-60 feet for the Channel crossing.
The inventor, a former jet-ski champion, captured the world’s imagination when he took to the skies above Paris at the Bastille Day parade two weeks ago.
Even French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted a video of Zapata’s exploits.
While the Bastille Day flight only used “3 percent of the machine’s capacity,” a successful crossing of the Channel would take “99.9 percent,” Zapata told CNN ahead of his Channel crossing. He warned that wind strength could be his biggest obstacle on Thursday.
Zapata said he believed he had a “30 percent chance” of making it across, and admitted to feeling greater pressure now that there is a lot more interest in his exploits.
“It’s like becoming a bird,” he told CNN. “But it’s also very hard. I have to fight against the wind with my legs so there’s pain too. It’s not as peaceful as it looks.”
The-CNN-Wire
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