French 'Flyboard' inventor poised for 2nd Channel crossing bid

August 04, 2019 | 16:00
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A Frenchman who has spent years developing a jet-powered hoverboard will again try to zoom across the English Channel on Sunday, after a first attempt last month was cut short when a botched refuelling attempt sent him into the water.
french flyboard inventor poised for 2nd channel crossing bid
Franky Zapata had to be pulled from the water after a botched refuelling attempt when he first tried to fly across the English Channel on July 25 AFP/Denis Charlet

Franky Zapata plans to make an early launch on his "Flyboard" from Sangatte on the northern coast of France for the 20-minute trip to St. Margaret's Bay in Dover, on England's south coast.

"We've seen things, we've learned things, and the winds haven't changed so I think it will happen," Zapata said at a press conference Saturday in Sangatte, affirming that he had "a much better chance" this time around.

The five turbines on Zapata's craft propel him at speeds of up to 190 kilometres (118 miles) an hour, powered by a backpack full of kerosene that can keep him airborne for around 10 minutes.

He hopes to make the 35-kilometre (22-mile) crossing in 20 minutes, keeping an average speed of 140 kilometres an hour (87 mph) at a height of 15-20 metres (50-65 feet) above the water.

But Zapata, a former jet-ski champion, tumbled into the middle of the busy shipping lane on July 25 after failing to land on a boat waiting in English waters to give him a fresh pack of kerosene.

"The trickiest part is really the refuelling," the 40-year-old Zapata said last Thursday. "I didn't let up on the gas at the right moment."

"Aviation is the result of people who have had failures, and it's by getting back up that we move forward," he said.

This time the refuelling boat will be bigger and have a larger landing area, and French navy vessels in the area will again be keeping an eye out in case of trouble.

French maritime authorities have given Zapata's team permission to keep the refuelling boat in French waters, something they had refused the first time around citing safety concerns.

Zapata's team has been racing to repair the hoverboard after it was damaged from falling in the Channel waters 10 days ago.

The main uncertainty this time around, Zapata said Saturday, is that his hoverboard might end up having "a little problem."

"Normally we test the machines for several weeks before big events. Here, it's a little bit worrying to be using a machine that has just been rebuilt," he said.

- 'My life's work' -

Zapata has been developing his hoverboard for the past three years, despite losing two fingers during its maiden flight in his garage near Marseille, when they got sucked into the turbines.

He already holds the Guinness World Record for the farthest hoverboard flight, a 2.2-kilometre trip over the Mediterranean Sea in April 2016.

No Guinness adjudicator will be on hand for the latest Channel attempt, though a spokeswoman said he could still be awarded a new record if the trip meets its guidelines.

Zapata burst into the spotlight at this year's July 14 Bastille Day military parade in Paris, where he and his craft soared noisily above a crowd of stunned onlookers that included French President Emmanuel Macron.

His device has also captured the attention of the French military, which in December gave Zapata's company, Z-AIR, a 1.3 million euro ($1.4 million) development grant.

Defence Minister Florence Parly told France Inter radio that it might eventually serve a variety of purposes, "for example as a flying logistical platform or, indeed, as an assault platform."

"I can't help it, the first time I saw it fly I said, 'This is going to be my life's work'," Zapata told the French online media site Brut in a recent interview.

AFP

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