Crossing The English Channel On A Hoverboard, This Man Crashed Into The Sea

Traveling from France to England on a hoverboard may be the thing most of us have never thought of. However, that is exactly what Franky Zapata, the creator of the jet-powered flying device called Flyboard Air, wanted to do on July 25.

He had made great efforts to move from Calais, France, to St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, England within 20 minutes. If success, he would become the first one in the world to fly across the English Channel on a hoverboard.

What a pity that the result was not as ideal as his initial plan: Zapata crashed into the sea when touching down for a refueling stop. Fortunately, he didn’t suffer from any injury in this crash.

According to his teammate, as cited by Mail Online, "It is a huge disappointment. He must have missed the platform by just a few centimeters."

The Flyboard Air hoverboard can move at a maximum speed limit of 87 miles each hour. It uses kerosene as the major fuel, which is put into a tank on Zapata’s back. At the beginning of this month, he revealed his success rate for this Channel mission was about 30 percent. The information was reported by the Guardian.

At least Zapata didn’t hide his real chances of success. It’s a pity that the boards like this hoverboard are not designed to operate on water.

In addition, the most notable part of this story is related to the French military. It appears that they showed their interest in the Flyboard Air. Zapata got a grant of $1.45 million (€1.3 million) from the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) to keep developing his technology as "a flying logistical platform or, indeed, as an assault platform."